Sudden fiction is a story that is VERY short. It starts right in on action and takes place over a short period of time.

Use your first paragraph only to establish setting and character.

Choose your words carefully to express as much

as possible with as few words as possible.

Then get on with the story.

Uncivil Seasons: "We don't get much snow, and we hardly ever murder one another. Suicide is more our style..."

No One Thinks of Greenland ,'You'll want to scratch,' said the nurse. 'Don't,' said the orderly."

Start in the middle of the action

After Life: "First I had to get his body into

the boat."

Focus on one powerful image:

A girl crying and looking out the window.

An empty cemetery.

Paint a picturewith words.

I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith:

"I write this sitting in the kitchen sink."

Include some suspense. This doesn't mean that your story has to be an adventure, mystery or horror story.

It can still be about a bad report card - you just need to make the reader want to read on to find out what is going to happen.

The Miracle Life of Edgar Mint by Brady Udall:

"If I could tell you one thing about my life it would be this: when I was seven years old the mailman ran

over my head."

Nervous Conditions by Tsitsi Dangarembga:

"I was not sorry when my brother died."

DO NOT

·Write about a dream·Have everyone die in some MEGA-DISASTER