The Shortest Distance Between Two Points

Ten tips for writing a novel with 100-word stories.

- RAN WALKER

For me, it started when I picked up Grant Faulkner's collection of 100-word stories, Fissures. Until that moment, I had no idea that a story could even be told in so few words. I would later learn that Grant had gotten his start after reading Paul Strohm's wonderful memoir of 100-word nonfiction stories, Sportin' Jack. After that, I could not quench my thirst for 100-word stories (or drabbles, as they are commonly called).

After reading a plethora of 100-word stories and then writing quite a few, I began to ponder if a novel (defined loosely) could be written using 100-word chapters. After scouring the internet for a while, I discovered no one had published a book like this. (In fact, most people were still digesting the concept of a 100-word story.) There was the novella-in-flash, popular in Bath, England, and the flash novel, developed by Nancy Stohlman, but there was nothing that spread a story arc over the course of one hundred 100-word chapters. So, I decided to write one.

Writing my first 100 x 100 micro novel, or "novel in 100-word stories," was quite a learning experience, but the process taught me a number of skills that have allowed me to write three so far (and a Christmas micro novella with fewer than 100 chapters). For the past few years, I have been evangelizing this form, and I am starting to see people develop books within this space.

If you were ever so inclined to try your hand at writing your current novel (or novella) idea as a 100 x 100 micro novel, here are 10 tips I learned the hard way so you won't have to bump your head unnecessarily on your journey.

1. Either outline the entire story or approach each chapter in an exploratory way.

Much like writing any long story, you have the options of building a thorough outline of all the events of the story (much like a film treatment) or exploring the unknown