Le Weekend Drabble Tree Challenge!

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

Yeay Saturday, especially chilly grey Saturdays, because just maybe it'll turn out to be far nicer to stay indoors, tucked in front of your keyboard/pen and paper, and take part in another little Dialj challenge?

This part of April's Drabble Month is courtesy of probodie - a Drabble Tree Challenge! The idea is that we start out with one drabble, and the next person/people to post a drabble have to begin their drabble with the word that ended the last one. The last word of those drabbles is the first word to begin the next drabbles posted, and so on. You can choose any drabble already posted (even the first one again) as the one that you grow out of - just use the last word of it to begin your own drabble. At the end of the weekend, we'll have a drabble tree - a series of drabbles that "grew" from each other, and ultimately from the first drabble!

The drabbles shouldn't be sequels to any other drabble - a drabble is supposed to be a complete story in itself, standing alone. It makes the whole story blossom in the reader's mind, in one glorious 100-word read.

My favourite drabble ever isn't really a drabble at all, it's a "six word drabble" by Earnest Hemingway:

"For sale. Baby shoes. Never worn."

Six words, and in your mind the whole story of that family is suddenly right there.

That said, the only real rules for this challenge are:

1. Drabbles have to to use the last word of someone else's drabble as the first word of their own

2. Drabbles must be 100 words exactly.

Two rules, to make it a challenge, but otherwise do what you will - because it's really all about the fun of writing Pros, innit? *g*

Comments

[schnuffi.livejournal.com]

He, thanks for the cool idea. No sequels this time - I promise *G*

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

You know, really, do whatever you have most fun doing! And drabble sequels prompted by other people's thoughts can be fun, whether they're technically "proper" drabbles or not.

There was some discussion about drabbles over on one of the Yahoo lists, about whether they're worth reading, or writing or whatever, and some comments about how most drabbles were really just snippets rather than proper drabbles, so I thought I'd throw up a bit extra information about what they technically are - because I know I had no idea when I first found Pros/fandom!

But really - the idea of Dialj is not to produce pieces of amazing writing, or even to post fic for people to read (that's just all a bonus). It's to inspire people to write Pros, and if you're inspired you can really do anything you want, so... go for it! Any which way you fancy. *g*

[schnuffi.livejournal.com]

Awwww, thanks! But I'll try and stick to rules this time *G*

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

Lol - well, the only rules are the two that I put up, (1) 100 words, and (2) Starting with the last word of someone else's challenge. Seriously - do whatever you want, it's writing! ('course it's always fun to give yourself an extra challenge anyway, and I love that you're writing Pros here these days. Today 100 words, tomorrow..? *g*)

[schnuffi.livejournal.com]

Never thought I ever would write so doing drabbles is at least a step forward. I might even be able to write something with an actual plot someday...

[schnuffi.livejournal.com]

Ah, wait - does that mean the title has to start with the last word of another drabble or the drabble itself? If it's the title I'll have to delete mine. The title I mean - not the drabble *G*

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

Nope, the drabble itself - you were right first time!

Yeay drabbling!

*g*

[schnuffi.livejournal.com]

Phew! Drabbling rocks!!!

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

It does. Drabbling is fun.

[callistosh65.livejournal.com]

Thank you very much for this J! I was feeling a bit bruised by the airy dismissiveness of some on that List discussion. Not your cup of tea is one thing, but not every drabble and snippet has to be the Mona Lisa surely??*g*

[windrain10.livejournal.com]

My opinion may not matter much but I think drabbles are challenging and take, in their own way, as much mental work as a short story.

I have written two drabbles in my First Fandom. They were hard to do and even now, all these years later, I like going back and reading them. Not a lot of words but a lot is going on in both of them, IMHO.

[probodie.livejournal.com]

Yay! Talk about chilly - our boiler is on the blink so slightly more chilly than most of you, I think *g*

I will participate, but when I get home. Cant really write slash on my parents' lappy, can I??? *snort*