The Experiment
About two weeks ago I ran an experiment on Facebook. My writing-well was running dry, so I turned to my friends for inspiration and proposed a collaboration of sorts. I use the word “collaboration” loosely. All I needed was a first sentence. An assignment. A starting point. Something to get the gears turning again. So I asked friends to each leave one sentence (that they crafted themselves) in the comment section of my post. The sentence I connected with the most, I’d use as the first line and inspiration for a short story of 1000 words or less.
The Result
It was such a great exercise. The story that resulted is like nothing I’ve written before. Probably not Pulitzer Prize winning, but that’s not the point. It’s playful, and experiments with point of view and narrative arc and includes some pretty colorful characters, all inspired by someone else’s first sentence.
And best of all, it was fun.
And now I want to do more. So I decided to set up a Subtack to see if we can carry on the experiment here. Dedicate this whole thing to stories started by you. Well, you if you want to participate.
Audience Participation
That’s where you come in: Contribute a first line!
Depending on participation, I’ll publish twice a month: the first and third Tuesday of every month. If you want to help generate ideas for the next short story, just leave your sentence in the comment section of the most recent short story posted. There’s no subscription fee.
The first short story from the experiment is called “A Kind of Comfort,” and it will immediately follow this post.
There is explicit language throughout the story, so please be advised.
Most of All
Thank you for being here. I’m excited to see where we go . . .
hey mate nice work