(character count: 160, without title, 131)
Wittgenstein the Photographer
He adjusts the lens and says to the fidgeting subject on the chair, “Don’t worry. The camera only adds about 20 pounds of torment.”
(Character count, with title: 140)
First Date
When they realized it wasn’t going to work:
She referred to ID as identification. He referred to ID as irreconcilable differences.
(Character count, without title: 113.)
This story previously appeared in the January 2011 issue of Raft Magazine.
A Wobbly Triptych Concerning That Historically Tortured Theme Known as Love
Him:
Just wanted to be your someone.
Her:
Please. Abandon your hope of us.
Third:
Even together, they’d still be lost.
(characters: 49)
Lipstick
He couldn’t believe her.
He just couldn’t.
(62 spaces, title included)
Criminal Justice
As usual, Mario and I were the only suspects.
(82 characters, title included)
Midwestern Italics
“And just what are we supposed to do with a used gondola now?”
Today marks the first installment of Twitterstories, a new feature on this blog. Every Sunday I will post a new short story in 140 characters or less. Sometimes the title will be included in the 140 character count. I will also include the number of characters used and whether or not the title is included in the character count.
For the record, since these stories are only 140 characters long, they do not fit within the confines of a traditional short story: beginning, middle, end, plot structure, character development, etc. Hopefully they meet my own criteria for what a short story can and should be: containing an element of narrative, and capturing the emotional state of a character in a given moment or situation.
That said, I hope you enjoy this feature.
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