Fun With Drabbles

I'm really going to make an effort to write more regularly here.  Hopefully, between writing and editing, I can find some inspiration for something to babble about.  Today is all about the Drabble.  What is a drabble?  It is a 100 word writing exercise that is sure to get your brain working.  Okay, so it isn't technically an exercise.  It is a story.  It has a beginning, middle, and end.  It cannot exceed, nor can it be less than 100 words in length.  Sounds simple.  Sure it is.  Until you try to write a full story in 100 words.

What makes this such a good exercise tool is the way you learn to examine every word you've written.  I find it best to write something out as detailed and short as possible.  Then I go back through every word and examine just how necessary it is for the story.  What phrases can be replaced with a single word on its own?  What words simply add fluff to the sentence?  How does the sentence read if those words are removed?  I'm often surprised by just how much I am able to cut.  In fact, cutting all those extra pieces of fluff often leaves me with less than the word count needed for a true drabble.  I like this because then I can go back and add more colorful descriptions!  Only then I end up running long again. So back to the cutting board.

While writing drabbles can be frustrating, it is usually quite fun. In the end, I've found each successful drabble leaves me feeling like a better writer.  It's the perfect way to learn how to say more with less!  Below are a few drabbles I recently completed for fun with a group of friends.

The Perfect Man
by Carole Shuffield (aka Jeanie Creech)

Tyffani  walked with her friend Sarah to their writing class. “Do you think the perfect man exists?  I swear I had the perfect dream about him last night.  It was so vivid.  I didn’t want to get up this morning.”  Tyffani asked.

Sarah replied confidently.  “He’s out there hiding somewhere.“

“Some say there is no such thing as a perfect man, but I know just where to find him,” Tyffani assured, taking her seat.
“Well, let me know when you find him,” Sarah chuckled as she sat across the aisle.
“He’s tucked between the pages of a good book.”


Winter Love
by Jeanie Creech

Sebastian Blake shivered when an icy winter breeze chilled him to the bone.  His mind reflected on better days.  Alone in the cold, his stomach growled, reminding him he hadn’t eaten for days. He thought again of precious days spent with Cynthia.  He missed her warm hugs and sweet smile.  Did she was there?  The baby should have arrived last month.  If only she hadn’t been taken from him...
  A lone tear slid silently down his cheek as he knelt by the granite marker and carefully placed a single red rose at her feet.  “I’ll see you soon, my love.”


And this one was just for giggles:

Drabble Babble
By Carole Shuffield                                                                                                                                  

Miss Carrie sat down to write out a drabble, but all she seemed able to do was just babble. She tapped on the keys with the greatest of ease, but nothing she wrote was of any note.  She wrote about pigs. She wrote about dogs.  She even tried writing one about frogs.  She wrote some that were sad, but most were just bad.

Between each line she sipped on her wine. Soon she felt just fine.

"They all came up short,"  Miss Carrie did snort.  "Eagles aren’t pink, but they do make one think before pouring oneself one more a drink."