week 6 lab: learning about microfiction

 I have never read or written microfiction before. At first, I wasn't really sure what it read like, it was smooth or choppy. But I was pleasantly surprised when reading through the sources that almost all of them were easy to understand. I think the most intriguing 2 topics were the love stories and the 2 sentence horror stories. Like I said, I wasn't really sure what I was getting into, but I think I'm a fan of microfiction. It tells you a story but there's also room for you to add details or characteristics in your head. There's lots of different ways to imagine the story taking place. 

1. I wanted to read the Tiny Love Stories because I'm a sucker for a good love story and the idea of squishing it all into 100 words intrigued me. One of the first stories that made me pause for a moment was It's OK to Feel This Way and specifically the line, "... I cried,  finally allowing myself to feel the world's weight." Most of the time people don't let themselves feel what's going on around them and especially right now it's even more challenging. It wasn't surprising how powerful those words are and how much they resonated with myself. 

The next Tiny Love Story I read was, A Sweet Reminder. It's crazy to me that this person was able to write, in under 100 words, something that I've felt for 2 and a half years. I tried to put into words of how my breakup (relationship was 3 years so it wasn't pretty) made me feel, but nothing quite felt right. But describing it as seeing your old relationship in so many places with so many bittersweet memories is a great start. The memories can be sad or bitter but then they can flip and make you feel loved all over again. 

2. Next I clicked on the 2 sentence horror just for fun. I'm not super into scary/horror themes but I asked myself, "how scary can they get in 2 sentences??" Well, some of them got pretty scary and I was shocked. I think it's an unique talent to be able to scare someone without giving a major plotline, excessive details, or even distinct characters. I noticed a big trend with these stories. The first sentence seems normal, nothing dark or twisted about it. But then you read the second sentence and this is usually were the horror element comes into play. 

Reading the microfiction reminded how important it can be to keep things simples: in class, life, and relationships. Source: Flickr