As I have already written microfiction for extra credit in this class, I already knew a bit about it before this StoryLab. I have never done research on them before, so I thought doing that for this StoryLab would be interesting.
My first introduction to microfictions was Pre-AP English II my sophomore year of high school, when my teacher taught us Ernest Hemingway's 6-word story. So, when I read about how that story was the inspiration for the anthology discussed in the NPR interview "'Hint Fiction' Celebrates The (Extremely) Short Story" hosted by Scott Simon, I thought it was very fitting. I particularly enjoyed during that interview how the editor of the anthology, Robert Swartwood, talks about hint fiction being more than just a one- or two-sentence excerpt of a larger story. Instead, hint fiction is in and of itself a complete story. Sure, it could be expanded on, but my favorite part about these short stories is that they are complete stories that leave you thinking. Every example of a hint fiction piece discussed in the NPR interview had me thinking about the possible meaning or just about the scenario in general.
This stood out to me, as well as how the editor talked about how one of the good pieces in his anthology took the author hours to write, despite it being less than 25 words long. I think reading that part was helpful because most people likely think of microfiction as a way to get through an assignment quickly. However, true microfiction can take as long as a full-length essay to write.
For the reading on the Ramayana, I read Laura's Tiny Tales from the Ramayana, so through there I had extensive exposure to tiny tales. I really enjoyed the format as it made for quick reads and it felt like each word was carefully chosen to advance the mini story as well as the overall story. Reading an entire novel of microfiction was a great experience, and I think that it definitely inspired me to write more microfiction this semester.
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