Survey, Carbon Dioxide and a Street Writer

I was delighted when, in reference to my previous post about flash fiction, anocturne said:

“i have seen this in circulation on the blogworld – a bunch of folks i visit have something called the “friday fifty-five” and one is supposed to post a 55 word piece every friday. it’s a good idea – maybe we could start a “saturday 65″ and take off, eh? like you said, it would be good discipline, and i know a couple of folks who would jump right in.”

A Saturday 65 feature would be paragraph stories of 65 words (or a little less). The challenge would be to make a real story in so few words.

Wikipedia has a fair bit to say about flash fiction. I want to know what you have to say:

  1. Would readers of this jump right in and submit?
  2. Is this the place to post these 65 word entries? I usually post reviews, not fiction.
  3. Should I include 65 word quotes from classic literature?
  4. Should I include my own 65 word stories or non-fiction once in a while?
  5. Should the format be free or should I impose a form, say, satirical back-of-book blurbs to go with the overall ‘reading’ theme?
  6. How often should I post these 65 page pieces? Monthly? Weekly?
  7. Who would read them? Check out the page views button at the bottom of the page. This is a non-profit, low volume blog.

I would be very interested in some feedback. If I no one responds, that will answer all my questions.

If you want to reply, why not send me a 65 word piece to encourage me!

Currently reading:

Runaway: Diary of a Street Kid
by: Evelyn Lau

The Weather Makers: How we are Changing the Climate and What it Means for Life on Earth
by: Tim Flannery

6 thoughts on “Survey, Carbon Dioxide and a Street Writer”

  1. 1. one can hope, innit?
    2. i battled with this one, considering that even my blogname is so unaccomodative of anything except reviews, but on second thoughts, why the hell not?
    3. that would be great. we don’t all read as many classics as we should.
    4. Bruce Holland Rogers would approve. 😉
    5. i wouldn’t limit myself. anything goes.
    6. every saturday, barring extenuating circumstances.
    7. [don’t i know that feeling!] “readers are welcome. no experience needed.”

  2. I used to do 55 Fridays. But I couldn’t stop myself from just 55 words. And then a whole entire story came out, which is still in progress. I might start it again after this whole writing a novel in one damn month is over. 🙂

  3. Thank you for the feedback With a name like anocturne I am doubly honoured to have you as my 666th;-)
    Thanks also for the detailed reply.

    paperback writer, congrats again on taking on the NaNoWriMo challenge — and especially for sparing me a few words when you are already so busy writing!

  4. Genuine thanks for the comment. I will leave a better comment later, but I have to be off to class.

    A Nalgene is the most popular brand of water bottle, at least around these parts.

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