Though some call the art form embattled, for centuries, the written word was one of the most popular forms of entertainment available for the masses. Families in Victorian England would gather round the fire to read the latest Charles Dickens installment (he wrote most of his novels one chapter at a time), and Dickens fans in America reportedly besieged the sailors on the ships carrying his novels, crying, “Is Little Nell dead?” Dickens, paid by the installment, had financial incentive for his loquacity, and many other academically lauded works of literature, from War and Peace to Les Misérables to Remembrance Rock, have page counts in the thousands.
But who says literature needs to be long? Ernest Hemingway once wrote a story in just six words and supposedly called it one of his best works. (“For sale: baby shoes, never worn.”) And who can say those words don’t evoke the same passion and emotion provided by more verbose works? Fact is, you don’t need a valley to grow a blade of grass, and you don’t need chapters to tell a story. All you need, as Hemingway attests, are the right words.
That said, I’d like to introduce the first ever Boulder Weekly Flash Fiction Contest. From now until June 17, send in your (very) short story of 700 words or less to buzz@boulderweekly.com with "Boulder Weekly Flash Fiction Contest" in the subject title , and we’ll publish the one we like best on June 24 and send the winner a small cash prize. Any submission with more than 700 words (not including the title) will be disqualified with extreme prejudice. Now get writing, creative Boulderites, and keep it short.
(More information HERE.)
But who says literature needs to be long? Ernest Hemingway once wrote a story in just six words and supposedly called it one of his best works. (“For sale: baby shoes, never worn.”) And who can say those words don’t evoke the same passion and emotion provided by more verbose works? Fact is, you don’t need a valley to grow a blade of grass, and you don’t need chapters to tell a story. All you need, as Hemingway attests, are the right words.
That said, I’d like to introduce the first ever Boulder Weekly Flash Fiction Contest. From now until June 17, send in your (very) short story of 700 words or less to buzz@boulderweekly.com with "Boulder Weekly Flash Fiction Contest" in the subject title , and we’ll publish the one we like best on June 24 and send the winner a small cash prize. Any submission with more than 700 words (not including the title) will be disqualified with extreme prejudice. Now get writing, creative Boulderites, and keep it short.
(More information HERE.)
