Chuck Wendig frequently hosts flash fiction challenges over at his blog. Two weeks ago, the challenge was to tell a story in three sentences. There were just over 160 excellent entries. It’s amazing what people can do with so few words**.
I checked back in the comments section yesterday morning, and lo and behold, I was one of the winners! Meaning I get a free copy of 500 Ways to Tell a Better Story. (Which you should buy. I mean, I haven’t read it yet, but I’ve bought and read many of Chuck’s other books. His fiction is great and his writing advice is indispensable.)
This is what I did with three sentences:
The king died, and then the queen died. The estate got tied up in probate. When the revolution came, the lawyers ended up in the guillotines.
You should really go check out the rest of the entries, too. Especially the other winners. I was particularly blown away by Robert Thomas’s entry.
**I still hate Twitter, though. I felt like I was slowly developing ADD whenever I used it.
Poetry and Practice 