Microfiction | Humour
Sheri’s 10-Word Story Challenge Takes on a New Guise
A stunt waiting to happen!
It’s taken six weeks of star-studded performances and a full circuit of the Medium circus — I mean, stage — make that, platform — for Sheri Jacobs’ daring 10-word story challenge to take on a new guise.
Last week, Jim McAulay🍁 invited me to an exclusive front row seat for a premiere performance at Illumination Mirror — what a great name for a circus! 🎪 😆
Curiously, his act was called, A 10 Word Story Challenge! I settled myself into my seat expecting another of Jim’s fun puns.
I should have known better!
The life buoy was a give-away!
What was so special about Jim’s act?
Jim introduced his act by explaining that he’d been ‘led to create a version of the 10 word story and a new challenge’ after reading my 10-word-story response to Shereen Bingham’s 10-word stories — are you still with me?! 😜
He then proceeded to announce the challenge —
‘Here’s the challenge,
create a 2 line 10 word story
involving dialogue.
Puns are optional.’
Without further to-do, he launched straight into his act…
…and pulled it off perfectly! Life buoy and all! 😅
Bravo!! Three cheers for Jim! 👏 🏆 🎈
So now it’s my turn — gulp!
After much contorting of brain and limbering up of linguistics, I now present five 2-line, 10-word dialogue story acts for your appraisement –
ACT 1
‘One look and she was a goner.’ ‘Funny about that.’
***
ACT 2
‘You’re barking up the wrong tree, mate.’ ‘And loving it.’
***
ACT 3
‘She had her knickers in knots.’ ‘Tell me something new.’
***
ACT 4
‘He gambolled his way past me.’ ‘How random is that?’
***
ACT 5
‘Something weird happened to me last night.’ ‘You’re not kidding.’
© Carolyn Hastings 2022
Definitely not as funny-punny as Jim’s but… well, what do you think? Was it worth coming to the show?
Who else, along with Sheri and Shereen, can I invite into the arena to have a crack at Jim’s 10-in-2 talking story challenge? William J Spirdione | Daniella Montage | Gustave Deresse | Amanda Laughtland | Jenine Bsharah Baines | Patrick M. Ohana | Raine Lore | Dr. Fatima Imam | Subashini Nachimuthu | Caroline de Braganza | Susannah MacKinnie | John K Adams 🙏 ✨ I’d be delighted to receive an invitation to your performance i.e. please tag me into your story. 🙏 💞
A few tips before you go
As with regular 10-word stories, the aim is to construct the framework for a complete-your-own-adventure-in-your-head type story. Unlike regular 10-word stories, Jim’s 10-in-2 talking stories require you to do that via a 2-person dialogue.
I deliberately chose to go light-on with punctuation in my 10-in-2 talking stories so that readers could interpret the dialogue any way they like. It’s up to you as to how much metalinguistic direction you give your readers.
I’m calling these 10-word stories, 10-in-2 talking stories, but you can call them whatever you like. 😊
Thank you to Lucy Dan 蛋小姐 (she/her/她) for allowing me to set up my arena in her publication, The Brain is a Noodle. 🙏 💜
Thank you so much for coming to my performance. Please help yourself to a balloon. 🙏 💕 🎈
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