Posted by Emma Corwin, Fiction Reader for 8.1
Do you like short stories? How short? Ten pages? Two? How about 100 words? That’s right. A complete little story the length of a paragraph, wrapped in a tiny box with a bow on top—all in just 100 words. Can it be done?
I’m here to tell you that it most certainly can, and it’s one of the coolest things ever. 100 word story is an online literary magazine edited by Grant Faulkner, Lynn Mundell, and Beret Olsen. The magazine publishes stories, memoirs, essays, and prose poems that—excluding the titles—are all exactly 100 words long. No more, no less. Why 100? As these guys explain it, 100 just seems like the perfect number. It’s complete, but also a fragment. And that’s exactly what these stories are. Like a photograph, they capture a moment that tells a story within its boundaries. Without saying too much, they reveal the gems tucked away at their very cores. Stories that are tiny, but still whole. They’re perfectly bite-sized to read during those five-minute breaks between studying or while waiting at the checkout line.
Sound like something worth reading? Why not try writing one? 100 word story is always open for submissions, so you don’t even have to wait! What’s even better is their submission fee (per story) is only $2.00. So you can send in a piece and still save some spare change for that celebratory cappuccino! What more could you ask for? Not sure what to write? They’ve got something for that too. Every month, 100 word story posts a photo prompt to get those ideas percolating. Then they select one of these submissions to feature in the next issue. Check out this awesome photo story! Even if you’re not ready to send something right away, you can support other writers by commenting on their stories published in the magazine. Cheer them on—tell them what makes their story a masterpiece! The craft and care that goes into these stories is truly amazing. I definitely encourage you to check them out!