55 fiction: The best way for new writers to learn how to tell a narrative story

Write a complete story in 55 words or less. That's what I tell writers who are just learning how to write a narrative. All it needs is a setting, character or characters, conflict, and a resolution.

In 1987 newspaper publisher Steve Moss invented one of the best ways to teach beginners how to write a narrative short story. In 55 words. (If you are an experienced writer it’s also a great warm-up activity.) Not only did Moss start his own contest at the San Luis Obispo New Times, but he eventually wrote a book. The 55 fiction competition continues to this day as an annual event in the New Times.

It also happens to be an excellent classroom assignment, especially after students learn how to analyze and write an essay about a short novel. Or perhaps when the assembly runs long crushing the lesson plan for the day. Or it’s snowing outside and everyone is excited and/or distracted. (Also good for a drop-in poetry assignment.) Or you are working with students on the last-minute details of the bi-weekly school newspaper and need an activity for your English students. Teachers need to be prepared for the unexpected and pivot, handouts and/or PowerPoint at the ready, to the unexpected.

Teaching Secondary Students to Write Effectively (November 2016) presents three evidence-based recommendations for helping students in grades 6–12 develop effective writing skills. Each recommendation includes specific, actionable guidance for educators on implementing practices in their classrooms.

The guide also summarizes and rates the evidence supporting each recommendation, describes examples to use in class, and offers the panel’s advice on how to overcome potential implementation obstacles. This guide is geared towards educators in all disciplines who want to help improve their students’ writing.

After studying the “Elements of Narrative" and trying it out with a short novel, the next step is to show students how writers go about writing a narrative—in only 55 words.

Copies were printed (then eventually on a PowerPoint) way ahead of time for these kinds of “emergencies” and students were usually in table groups to work on assignments together. In this case, they all read their stories (three) and each table chose their bests to be read to the class. Shy writers often don’t want to read their own work, so table groups could choose someone to read it for them.

The three examples were meant to show students how to get started, since they had to write three of them.

Here are the instructions:

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55 FICTION SHORT STORY ASSIGNMENT Name__________________________________

English Period______ Date______________________

Based on Steve Moss’s “The World’s Shortest Stories”

There are over 950,000 words in the English language— All you have to do is use 55 of them.

What's 55 Fiction?

● It's storytelling at its very leanest, where each word is chosen with utmost care.

● It's not as easy as you might think.

● It's fun, which is exactly what reading and writing are supposed to be.

A haiku poem is short. So is a quarterback sneak. But nobody thinks they’re simple to execute — it’s just that the people who do them well make it seem that way.

Taking a great story concept and developing it within such a limited space is a little like carving a beautiful sculpture from a tiny block of wood. The working range is truncated and intimate, but the goal is not different than if you were creating on a much larger scale. You’re trying to perfectly merge various elements into a coherent whole that ultimately makes people say, “Wow, that’s really great!”

The Rules:

1. Must be fiction, not essays or poems or errant thoughts.

2. Must contain elements of the following:

   • 1. setting

   • 2. a character or characters

   • 3. conflict

   • 4. resolution

3. No more or less than 55 words.

4. Hyphenated words can't count as one word.

5. Contractions do count as single words.

6. Title is not included in word count, but can be no longer than seven words.

7. Initials count as single words.

8. Acronyms count as one word.

9. Numbers count, too. If spelled out and hyphenated, see above.

10. Punctuation does not count as a word.

The Assignment

Write at least three stories, following the rules above. Due at the end of class. Homework: 5 more stories.

If you have a lot of extra time, analyze your writing style. In each sentence, underline the picture noun once, and the action verb twice. Circle all pronouns. Put a box around passive voice verbs. Are you writing sentences with muscle? What can you improve about your writing? As you look at your three stories, which do you think is your best work? Second best? Least best? Why?

A Few Examples:

DEVELOPMENTAL REVENGE

Richard steps through the door. The smell of whiskey touches off memories of his father’s hand across his younger face. He is surprised he found the house still standing. He had willed it gone.

Richard picks up a rock.

“For You, Dad”

A window breaks. The walls will soon follow.

His mini-mall will stand here.

SHIFT WORK

“You’re still here? Where’s Dr. Jones?”

The Emergency Room is busy. I’m angry at my missing replacement.

“He’s late again,” I say.

“Hey, Doc! Face versus windshield — better come quick!”

Cursing to myself, I yell at the charge nurse: “Page Dr. Jones again!”

As I intubate, I hear Jones’ pager — on the patient’s belt.

AT THE AUTOPSY

“Victim’s blood is completely drained, apparently through two small puncture wounds in the neck,” said the coroner.

“Hey … you don’t suppose it’s, you know, the real deal?” asked his assistant.

“No, just some psycho.”

“You sure?”

They stared at each other for a moment, then burst out laughing — but stopped when the corpse laughed, too.

Now it’s your turn! Write a 55 fiction story following all the rules and post it in comments below!

If you have read this far you know you can use this strategy to write pieces of a larger story. You’ve just got to keep it changing and moving forward until you get to the end.

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