Fragments: 50-Word Fanfic

[roseembolism]

A while ago on Metafilter, I found a discussion of a 50-word short story contest. The idea was to get a complete short story or vignette in 50 words or less. It's a useful exercise to do, as it encourages one to distill a plot down to a minimal amount of wordage, while giving the audience a sense of a complete story.

I couldn't resist applying this to fanfic, though I normally don't do fanfic. And so, this is what I came up with.


The Solution is Worse than the Problem
"Foolish, Harry, coming here with no allies."
"Not really, Voldemort. I have a spell to destroy you."
"You don't even have a wand. You can't cast Dumbledorf's spell."
"It's not Dumbledorf's: a redhead girl taught me this." Harry began the incantation: " Darkness from twilight, crimson from blood that flows…"



They'll Wish They Had the Old Enemy Back
"Here's your toy.": said the man with the pointed hair and the widow's peak, tossing the gold ring to the flaming eye. He grinned nastily, as his hair began to glow. "Now maybe it won't be boring to kick your ass."

Sadly, for Middle Earth, he soon was bored again.


So, does anyone else want to try?

Comments

[roseembolism.livejournal.com]

It's a really useful exercise in pairing down one's writing to get to the essential point- kind of like the equivalent of the "one minute sketch" in drawing classes.

I strongly recommend it as an exercise for anyone who feels they have a problem with wordiness or in getting to the point.