Writing Blog Number 2

20240220 Drabbles!

Drabbles!

What is a Drabble? Fair question. It comes up here on WdC a bit, so let's hit it.

Let's start at the very beginning. The word Drabble comes from a Monty Python sketch in which contestants had to write a novel in a day. How that came to mean a 100-word story is anyone's guess, but it involves Oxbridge students and alcohol (maybe stronger substances). A Drabble is now a story of exactly 100 words. Exactly 100. Some say the title is included in the word count, some don't, others say the title should be no longer than 10 words... or, in the case of a UK magazine, exactly 10 words, and in the case of an online US site, one word only.

To be a true Drabble, it needs to be a work of fiction with a beginning, middle and end. Not an anecdote or vignette. However, the definition has shifted to include 100-word scripts (so much fun!), essays (still with intro, body and conclusion), memoirs (must have an ending) and even poetry. As an aside, more challenging is writing a rhyming poem with definite syllable count in exactly 100 words.

Then there is a Drabble Trio, where there are 3 interconnected and yet separate Drabbles. I had two of these published online. And there is a Drabble Story, where each of 10 chapters is exactly 100 words (chapter 1, 1, etc. is included in the word count). Then there is the 40-word or 50-word challenge, writing something in exactly 40 or 50 words, and the 6-word story. This last one comes from an apocryphal tale of Hemingway being challenged to write a story in as few words possible and he came up with: For sale: baby shoes. Never worn. This was not Hemingway, but the actual author is hard to ascertain.

There are a few online publishers who use Drabbles as a way to get eyeballs. I had one published in a book called Banned Drabbles, where we had to write a Drabble that was an introduction to the short story we had in the book Banned. Black Hare Press used to release books of Drabbles regularly; I had a lot of sales there as well. So it might seem frivolous, but there are genuine markets for these.

I am currently trying to sell a book of 366 Drabbles, one for each day of the year, a mixture of fiction, essay, memoir, script and even a couple of poems. There are a couple of Drabble Trios and one Drabble Story in it as well. I have almost got enough to have a second volume. I have written heaps, but many are actually rubbish, so they will not be included. I use Drabbles as a way to practise keeping my prose tight, and if I ever feel I am falling behind on my word count (I write 250 words a day, every day, without fail), a couple of Drabbles can help.

And I have waffled on way too long. This could be 10 Drabbles on its own!