(no subject)
Oh hey guys, remember how one of my goals was to write 5 short stories, each in one day? Just did the first one! :D It's called "Dunes."
It's for Kazka Press's flash fiction monthly contest (the people who published Bronies). The contest is called 713, and each story must be exactly 713 words long. Winners get paid $7.13, haha. Anyway, this is the first time I've entered. It's also my first flash fiction piece, under 1000 words!
The last couple months, they've had themes, as well as a rule. Last month, you had to pass the...I don't remember what it's called, but that test for female characters in movies and books. Like, it has to have a female character who isn't just there to be a love interest, two women have an actual conversation that isn't about a man, etc. Anyway I thought it would be a pain trying to fit all those requirements into 713 words, you know? You'd spend half of it just trying to follow those rules.
So this month, the theme was just a picture of a bay window in an old house, and the rule was you had to have a same-sex committed couple. And "they should be characters, not caricatures." But the more I thought about it, the more I thought...if you're cramming a reference of their sexuality into such a short story, doesn't that kind of turn them into caricatures? Making such a point of it? Especially since these aren't supposed to be romance stories, they're sci fi. It's like you're planting a neon sign in the first two paragraphs that says "oh by the way, they're GAY." And I thought, technically any of the characters in any of my short stories could very well be homosexual, because their sexuality never comes up. Why? Because it doesn't matter to the story, that's why! Romantic relationships show up in my novels, but pretty much never in my short stories.
That was when I thought, I could just write a story with two people of the same gender. So I did. It has two dudes in it. And you can think that they're a committed gay couple, living together, or they could be two bros saving on rent. It's a spec fic story about a physical manifestation of tensions that arise between people who live in close quarters to each other, regardless of the actual state of their relationship. (Oooh, that sounded so smart guys!) Anyway, the point is, I think I managed to follow the rules to a T and still not turn it into a "See, they're gay, I'm so modern and open-minded you guys!!" story. It just doesn't come up, so it doesn't get mentioned. There's no third character to point at them and say, "So are you guys....you know."
Most people will read it and assume they're gay, since that was the theme, of course. But they won't know. Because even I don't know! I admit, near the end I was thinking they were probably gay, but even I don't know for sure. Why? Because man, when it all comes down to it, it's none of our business and it doesn't matter. And I didn't feel like making the decision, I didn't feel like knowing for sure, because one of my favorite feelings ever is to finish writing my own story and still be sort of wondering what's going to happen next.
It's for Kazka Press's flash fiction monthly contest (the people who published Bronies). The contest is called 713, and each story must be exactly 713 words long. Winners get paid $7.13, haha. Anyway, this is the first time I've entered. It's also my first flash fiction piece, under 1000 words!
The last couple months, they've had themes, as well as a rule. Last month, you had to pass the...I don't remember what it's called, but that test for female characters in movies and books. Like, it has to have a female character who isn't just there to be a love interest, two women have an actual conversation that isn't about a man, etc. Anyway I thought it would be a pain trying to fit all those requirements into 713 words, you know? You'd spend half of it just trying to follow those rules.
So this month, the theme was just a picture of a bay window in an old house, and the rule was you had to have a same-sex committed couple. And "they should be characters, not caricatures." But the more I thought about it, the more I thought...if you're cramming a reference of their sexuality into such a short story, doesn't that kind of turn them into caricatures? Making such a point of it? Especially since these aren't supposed to be romance stories, they're sci fi. It's like you're planting a neon sign in the first two paragraphs that says "oh by the way, they're GAY." And I thought, technically any of the characters in any of my short stories could very well be homosexual, because their sexuality never comes up. Why? Because it doesn't matter to the story, that's why! Romantic relationships show up in my novels, but pretty much never in my short stories.
That was when I thought, I could just write a story with two people of the same gender. So I did. It has two dudes in it. And you can think that they're a committed gay couple, living together, or they could be two bros saving on rent. It's a spec fic story about a physical manifestation of tensions that arise between people who live in close quarters to each other, regardless of the actual state of their relationship. (Oooh, that sounded so smart guys!) Anyway, the point is, I think I managed to follow the rules to a T and still not turn it into a "See, they're gay, I'm so modern and open-minded you guys!!" story. It just doesn't come up, so it doesn't get mentioned. There's no third character to point at them and say, "So are you guys....you know."
Most people will read it and assume they're gay, since that was the theme, of course. But they won't know. Because even I don't know! I admit, near the end I was thinking they were probably gay, but even I don't know for sure. Why? Because man, when it all comes down to it, it's none of our business and it doesn't matter. And I didn't feel like making the decision, I didn't feel like knowing for sure, because one of my favorite feelings ever is to finish writing my own story and still be sort of wondering what's going to happen next.