Hounding from the Depths of Perdition

I wrote a drabble about a computer monitor that commits suicide!

I'm happy about the drabble part of that sentence. And the computer monitor bit is not at all a diatribe about previous evil computers that have spited me and offed themselves in order to ruin my writerly existence.

I'm weird, I know. This is what you get on Winks with no coffee.

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Also, let it be known that was my very first drabble.

Tiddly, why on Earth are you doing this to yourself?


If I stopped my various habits you'd get a Ted nobody would ever want to talk to.

WTH is a "drabble?"

It's a dribble with more drama.

I mean, c'mon--it's Tiddly.

Oh, okay.


Thought maybe it might be some obscure Britishism I was unaware of.

Health reasons, Ted. Metabolism slowing down, blah blah blah, mutter mutter.

I'm a super duper active person, but I'd let stress get the best of me and am a) super out of shape for my personal pursuits (like back-country hiking in mountains, action adventure races, etc. wherein I get my jollies but other people usually think I'm insane), and b) I have been drinking way way WAY too much frou frou coffee for my own good. Also, given my family health history, well...let's just say I want to stack the deck in my favor.

On the bright side, this leaves me more money for sparkly things...and I'm learning to, um, appreciate tea. Still working on that bit.

slcboston said:

WTH is a "drabble?"

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TedTheewen said:

It's a dribble with more drama.

I mean, c'mon--it's Tiddly.

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Drabble - 100 word story. Exactly 100 words.

In other words, GAAH.

The attention-span of people has gotten that short, huh?

You know, if you just drink straight coffee, with none of that frou-frou stuff, it is MUCH better for you.

slcboston said:

You know, if you just drink straight coffee, with none of that frou-frou stuff, it is MUCH better for you.

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HATE regular coffee. I was a barista long ago, and found it was frou frou or death! Also, I make really really crappy regular coffee but very awesome espresso drinks.

Just switch to Mt. Dew like the rest of us rednecks. Geez!

tiddlywinks said:

HATE regular coffee. I was a barista long ago, and found it was frou frou or death! Also, I make really really crappy regular coffee but very awesome espresso drinks.

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Straight espresso is also fine for you.



And there is no excuse for making bad coffee. NONE. A simple, cheap French press and some decent beans make a world of difference.

I can't drink coffee...it messes up my stomach. It's weird because nothing else does.

Nope. Used to be a Dew fiend and gave that up.

And I don't like straight espresso either.

I don't drink this for the caffeine, people. Caffeine does nothing - I broke any effect it might have had in grad school. Dark, dark days.

But, the upshot is I think I'll be writing that coffee glitter bug story Shaun cursed me with sooner rather than later now.

I"m pretty sure if I cleaned up and dried out I'd just up and die.

tiddlywinks said:

Drabble - 100 word story. Exactly 100 words.

In other words, GAAH.

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100 words? I have trouble staying below a 1,000 mark. I don't think I could do it.

I live on Iced Tea myself. Never been a coffee drinker. Now, offer me a Dr. Pepper, and we're talking. Although I'm trying to cut that out of my diet.

Unfortunately, the alternative I've switched to is Red Bull.... soooo...not sure that's progress.

vanilla said:

100 words? I have trouble staying below a 1,000 mark. I don't think I could do it.

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It's an excellent exercise in tight writing, that's for sure! I used to think I could never do flash or micro fiction. Turns out, not only could I, but most of my sales have been flash and micro fiction. So apparently some people like my attempts.

I also used to be an associate editor for a flash zine. And thing is, if you do it well (which, I think anyone CAN if they practice and study it--it's a learned skill just like anything else) you can rise to the top of the slush pile because there are a lot of other writers who don't do it well. At. All. Or...at least that's my experience.

I mean, I suppose that applies to all fiction writing--learn how to do it and you will rise above those who still have more to learn--but I think maybe because there aren't as many writers attempting to write flash/micro fiction that your pool is smaller??

I like flash fiction. You can pack a good punch in one of those. I even had a flash sale someplace.

But 100 words is just too confining. It becomes a jumble of words you arrange instead of actually telling some kind of story.

TedTheewen said:

I like flash fiction. You can pack a good punch in one of those. I even had a flash sale someplace.

But 100 words is just too confining. It becomes a jumble of words you arrange instead of actually telling some kind of story.

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Yeah, it does often times turn out more of a vignette than a story (which are beautiful and lovely in their own way). But with skilled hands, an author can actually convey a TON of story using only a few words, I think.

I've seen a couple of good ones, but for the most part, they were very rare.

Well, more room in that small pond then! I seriously get frustrated finding something to cut out when I try to go short with a 1,000 limit. I'm just not a short and direct writer and my mind expands to be way too big with a "and then THIS happens and then THIS happens." Maybe that is a weakness but you tend to find what you're good at and stick with it, yeah?

That's when skill comes into play. Better words, better results.

vanilla said:

Maybe that is a weakness but you tend to find what you're good at and stick with it, yeah?

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Oh for sure. But I do think it can be a weakness to stick to only what you're good at. There's something that strengthens our writerly muscles in trying to do things we suck at. Somehow in the process we can go back to what we're good at and do it BETTER than we even thought we could.

I don't know if that make sense...but, yeah.

TedTheewen said:

That's when skill comes into play. Better words, better results.

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Not just better words, but also better...execution and arrangement?