The Agony of Concise Writing
What makes a good story?
The first I heard of the 10 words story challenge was in this article by Blogs by J, a new writer on Medium.
He was tagged in a challenge by Matt Patton, who was tagged in a challenge by Jennifer Barrios Tettay (Hey Jennifer!), who was challenged by Ben Ulansey (Hi Ben), who may have been challenged originally by Sheri Jacobs (Hi Sheri!).
The challenge is to write a story in 10 words
If you know me, you already know I appreciate concise writing. The last thing a reader wants is to wade through jargon or complex terminology.
In short, no one wants you to use your Big Words when a shorter answer works.
This challenge takes concise writing to the next level.
It immediately reminded me of a quote from the Season 4 Premiere of Yellowstone, an entertaining Netflix series.
At a 0:43 seconds, Beth says:
“Because you have all the pussy and half the money.”
It’s a brilliant 10-word sentence that sums up an entire storyline in the series.
If I was to write a long novel, it would likely be a mystery or a detective novel, so I thought a bit about how to set the stage with a bit of suspense.
A good story has a relatable character, a setting, a plot, a conflict, and a resolution, which is tricky to fit into a single sentence.
After a bit of writing and a few false starts, here’s my 10-word story.
Wiping her bloody hands, she walked into the police station.
Hope you enjoyed it! I’m passing this challenge on to a few of my writer friends. I can’t wait to read your responses.
Sarah Higgins, Dave Logan, The Ladybird, America Zed⚡, Deb Fiore, VOICEOFSHARK, Debra Goldyn, Julian Palumbo, Words2Gold.Ink, Dave Wettlaufer, George Salaka, Stuart Englander, Stephanie Braden
ooh, now that I started thinking about 10-word stories, here’s another one:
“I forgive me too,” she whispered quietly, “I forgive myself.”
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