Kaia-Marie+Bishop

My drabbles

Drabble
 * Genre: **

I've always wanted to write stories, but I've struggled with being able to write the stories. I think having the constrictions of the drabble and the shortness of them will allow me a lot of practice writing stories.
 * Why I'm interested: **

I don't know much about this genre. I've been told that it's a story in exactly 100 words.
 * What I know about the genre: **

//Dear Kaia: This is completely new to me. I suggest you try to write several of these, since they are short and may require some experimentation. As you know, writing short genres can be very demanding. Looking forward to reading my first "drabbles."//

//Bill//

//Purpose:// Drabbles were originally written as part of a game created by British comedy group Monty Python or perhaps was created in science fiction fandom in the '80s. They are frequently written during drabble contests, where participants are given a theme to use in their writing. They are written and read partly because they are difficult to write well because they must be succinct. Drabbles teach the writer to do more with less.
 * User's Guide: Drabbles**

//Structure//: Drabbles have a limited word count, although the exact word count is argued over. Some say that it must have exactly 100 words--no more, no less--while others say that it only needs to be approximately 100 words, as long as it's very short. Some of the drabbles I have seen consist completely of conversation, while others are just a narrator speaking. The title is also limited; it has a limit of up to 15 words. When there are characters in drabbles, their names tend to be monosyllabic. There is debate about how words created using hyphens should be counted in the word count.

//Style:// Drabbles are fiction and are frequently written as science fiction, slash fiction, or fan fiction. Writers must be very exact and concise in their word choice because of the word limit. If they are slash fiction or fan fiction, the writer usually must maintain the essence of the original work. Whether they are scifi or fanfic, they follow the rules for those genres, as well as the 100 word limit of the drabble. Some drabbles use puns or play with words and phrases to be humorous.

//Audience:// The audience who reads drabbles seems to consist of the same audience who read and write fanfic and scifi. For drabble contests, the audience consists of judges. Drabbles are often posted in online forums for people to read.

JBMcDragon. http://tentative.net/JBMcDragon/library/dc/cake.html Accessed 2/7/11 This contains several examples of more-than-100-word drabbles, however, I do not think that they are very well written. I believe they are fanfic, but I do not recognize the work the author is referencing.
 * Annotated Bibliography: **

Langford, Dave. http://www.ansible.co.uk/writing/drabbles.html Accessed 2/7/11 This gives a brief history of the drabble and includes examples of some drabbles. I read through the stories, but they made little sense to me.

Meades. http://www.meades.org/drabble.html Accessed 2/7/11 This shares the history of the drabble, lists a couple of books that contain collected drabbles and all the authors, and several example drabbles.

Missy, Merlin. http://firefox.org/news/articles/1231/1/Dribbles-and-Drabbles/Page1.html Accessed 2/7/11 This gives a very interesting explanation about drabbles. It also gives suggestions for how to begin writing them and editing them.

Robson, Alan. http://homepages.paradise.net.nz/triffid/drabbles/drabbles.htm Accessed 2/7/11 This has 16 examples of drabbles. These stories were written more like stories than some other drabbles I read and I actually liked a bunch of them. Many of them are play on words or phrases.

http://podcasting.isfullofcrap.com/ Accessed 2/7/11 This website is a collection of drabbles by a lot of writers. It looks like there are weekly challenges that are used as prompts for writers to create drabbles and submit them.

http://100wordstories.com/ Accessed 2/7/11 This link contains many submitted drabbles that are related to specific themes.

http://www.charliefish.com/drabbles.html Accessed 2/7/11 This link contains drabbles organized by author, along with a short explanation of drabbles.

http://girlsaregeeks.wordpress.com/2010/04/26/how-to-write-a-drabble/ Accessed 2/7/11 This contains an explanation of drabbles, a step-by-step process for creating them, and a few examples. It also links to some web entries that look useful for learning more about drabbles and writing them.

//Hi Kaia:// //Who would guess so much has been written about drabbles? Looks like you have a good range of examples, so you can find your niche within the genre. Good luck! I'm looking forward to reading some.//

//BIll//