Dumb Looks are Free

He flashed a glassy grin  toward the beauty, who  wondered what he'd been smoking. Not for long, though; the acrid scent hanging in the air like an accusation finished the story that his tattletale dumb look had begun.

“How many times, Bill? I toldja mushrooms are for eating, not smoking!”

Frozen in Time

It was one of those moments that made time disappear, he watching his lover's eyes, and they watching back.

"What do you think we should do?" he finally asked.

Alice skewered her husband with a chilly glare. "Do whatever you want," she frosted, "but I'm getting a good divorce lawyer."

Bliss, Blindness, and Bankruptcy

The wedding was golden, signaling the end of her brief enslavement to the inherited tax debt. Del Arnes walked in vibrant style afterward, flowers in the air and her savior on her arm. Joshua smiled as the limo pulled away. He finally had a means of saving his failing enterprise.

Dances with Trafficks

Edward hated sales calls with Karen, especially in Washington. The roads were convoluted and the two were stranded. "We can't wait around," nagged Karen. "We'll miss our call." Edward slammed out of the car and jogged for the next station.

Ben's truck got him first... he didn't look both ways.

Reflections on the Trade Skills of the Woodcutter (the mini-saga, Vol II)

Even the simplest trade conveys a great many skills. Take the humble Woodcutter, who must know the length of his ax, which end to hold, with which end to cut, and so forth. Such knowledge is imperative not only when chopping trees, but also when set upon by  large bears...

Ok, supposing it's not a bad attempt, but does it really qualify as a whole story? It seems to lack an ending. As a writer,  how much can I leave to the reader's imagination?

The Mini-Saga

In order to be a writer, you've got to write. In order to write successfully, you've got to write consistently. For those of us who are short on time and/or attention span, this is a potential problem. With a life full of Everything Else going on, how do you make time to develop a new habit like consistent writing?

In A Whole New Mind: Why Right-Brainers Will Rule the Future, Daniel Pink describes the mini saga, an abbreviated story which consists of exactly fifty words. It may sound like a strange idea at first, but consider this: the strange and unusual have a habit of stoking creativity and melting away writer's block. The strange and unusual are often what make for interesting storytelling, and if you can write a coherent sentence, you can write a fifty word story.

The mini saga is a very useful tool for developing consistent writing habits. A full story in exactly fifty words. What's yours?