Posts Tagged ‘fast fictions’

Twelve Days of Fast Fiction, 2013

Posted: 12 December 2013 in 12DaysFF, fast fiction, fiction, writing
Tags: , , , , ,
1

OK, so last year, quite some time since I’d answered any challenges to write fast fictions, I wrote twelve stories in response to twelve challenges issued by friends and creators. I had a blast doing them, the creators seemed to have a blast reading them, and from the responses I had to the tales, and the downloads of the ebook that resulted, so did people reading them.

And then in March, for Comic Relief, I did it again. Well, I didn’t write twelve stories in twelve days; I wrote twenty-four in twenty-four hours. Yeah, that was… fun probably isn’t the word, but hell, it was a unique experience and unique challenge, (unless I do it again, of course), and again, people seemed to like them. And we – the creators, the readers and I – raised about £1,600 (about $2,600) doing so.

So, that was nice.

So, why not do it again? Why not indeed?

Once again I invited twelve writers and friends to challenge me. (There’s one notable exception to the ‘writers’ rule – a lady who I’m so incredibly pleased said ‘yes’ that I literally shouted “YES!” when she agreed. That’s the wonderful Corrie Corfield, a voice that if you’re British you’re almost certainly with, and if you’re not British, you really should listen to her wonderful speaking voice. But more about her when I write her story…)

But I’m delighted that each of the twelve has said yes. There are some names from previous challenges you might find familiar; I’m particularly delighted that Neil Gaiman has once again said yes, as has Sarah Pinborough. And I now can’t imagine doing such a challenge without asking Mitch Benn…

The challenge was the same in each case, the usual fast fiction challenge:

Give me a title of up to four words in length, together with a single word you want me to include in the tale, and I will write a story of exactly 200 words.

So, starting Friday 13th December, I’ll be answering challenges from twelve very special people, friends all, each of whom are supremely talented in their own fields.

Who are the twelve?

Well, in no particular order, and not necessarily the order in which they will be written:

I’m very grateful they’ve agreed to challenge me; the stories will start appearing tomorrow. (Note: entry edited to include story links as they were written.)

Edit to add: An ebook of all twelve stories is available for $0.99. Click here for details.

The Twenty-Four Hour Fast Fiction Challenge

Posted: 4 March 2013 in 24hrFFC, fast fiction, fiction, writing
Tags: , , ,
3

UPDATED on 14th March with the final six challengers!

15th March 2013 is Red Nose Day in the UK, when comedians and people (note to self: check whether comedians are people) come together to raise money for Comic Relief.

I’m going to be doing my bit this Red Nose Day, writing fast fictions for celebrities who’ve challenged me, following the “usual rules”. So I’m going to be challenged with a four word title and a single word to include in the tale, in response to which I’m going to write a story of exactly 200 words.

Twenty-four times.

In twenty-four hours.

I’ll be starting at 12:30pm on Friday 15th March, and writing for 24 hours straight. And I want your money while I’m doing so.

My Red Nose Day giving page is here, and you can sponsor me to write the stories, to complete the twenty-four hours and – immediately after the challenge is complete – you’ll be able to buy an ebook of all twenty-four stories for the perfectly round sum of £1.00

I’m part of Mitch Benn’s #twittermillion team – he’s creating a comedy album from scratch during the same 24 hours, in the same room! The venue where all this lunacy will take place is: The Vineyard Community Centre, The Vineyard, Richmond TW10 6AQ. Check out his plans here. There’ll be a live webcast covering both events – details to come.

I’m incredibly excited about the people who’ve challenged me to write stories for them. I’ve released the names of the challengers six at a time, and the full list is below, the names in bold are the newest challengers…

  • Ian Rankin
  • Neil Gaiman
  • Tim Minchin
  • Richard Curtis
  • Rory Bremner
  • Marcus Brigstocke
  • Caitlin Moran
  • David Arnold
  • Rufus Hound
  • Emma Kennedy
  • Laurie Penny
  • Robert Llewellyn
  • Kim Newman
  • Robin Ince
  • Lauren Laverne
  • Jon Holmes*
  • Mark Watson
  • Dave Gorman

  • Andy Salzman
  • Jenny Colgan
  • Ben Aaronovitch
  • Sarah Pinborough
  • Andy Nyman

    • and of course…

  • Mitch Benn

* Any comments about the story written for Jon Holmes obviously being necessarily a very short story are unwarranted. But true.

Twenty-Four Hours. Twenty-four stories. Way too many coffees.

And it starts at 12:30 on Friday