short

A while back, I fancied myself as a YouTuber. Tried vlogging. Tried video podcasting. Also tried, by way of Twitch and then putting it up on YouTube, livestreaming.

I’m not built for vlogging. I enjoy podcasting, but without the video part. And loved what I was streaming live, but not the ‘live’ portion of it.

I called it 1000 words. “Write a thousand words based on an artwork.” It was a challenge for myself, to write flash fiction in exactly a thousand words.

Short fiction is one of my bigger weaknesses when it comes to writing. I tend to go for either end of a scale: seventeen syllables of a haiku, or planning a full-blown novel. Nothing wrong with either, but some ideas just fall somewhere in the middle.

Create with your weaknesses.

Today’s Unblock prompt led me to examine my weaknesses (goodness, there are many!) and I rediscovered this old nemesis of mine in short fiction. I do want to write short fiction. They may not amount to much (pun not intended) but as an exercise it’s something I know I should be doing.

Short fiction strips away a lot from writing, and learning how to focus on a single idea, how to look at language differently so it delivers the most impact is akin to writing poetry, only more allowing. I enjoy writing poetry, and I always enjoyed the challenge of the thousand word limit. I also liked connecting with great artists and sharing (however meagerly) their great work with others.

So, to follow the prompt like I promised I would, I’m resurrecting 1k words. It won’t be live, but it will go on YouTube. It won’t be unedited, but I’ll aim to make it entertaining. And it’ll be a nice routine to build. A lovely addition to my creative tool chest.

See you soon with 1000 words!