Apparently. A drabble is 100 words. If it's 99 words or 101 words, it's not a drabble, because part of the point is to be exactly 100 words.
And now to hedge, since I've been blunt. :)
The wikipedia entry says it's 100 words or less, but...the best authors in fandom--all fandoms I've seen--use it as specifically 100. That's why drabble comms are often named [fandomname]100.
There are a lot of people who use it to mean a short fic. And the definition is one of those things that people fight about. Based on my experience, you'll be taken far more seriously as a fic writer if you do the 100 word thing. But that is just my experience.
There was a great fandom dictionary I had in memories, but that LJ has been purged boo. But, to give some examples...
minervacat wrote a drabble for every episode of Sports Night, which is just absolutely brilliant. It's here, and so, so gorgeous.
100 words is actually not something that I usually have a problem with. Almost everything that I have at penandpencil02, the fanfiction journal I used to use, was 100 words. It always bugged me though because getting everything down in 100 words isn't always easy but very few people ever took the time to comment on them. And it happened in every fandom I wrote in! Grey's Anatomy, Supernatural, House. . .they were all ignored. Drabbles are just so unappreciated everywhere.
Ahem. I'm not sure what the topic is but I'm sure I veered away from it. Anyway. . .
Thank you for the links and the clearly well-thought response. I am currently ignoring the Sports Night drabbles since I haven't seen the show yet but will hopefully change that soon. The few Harry Potter drabbles that I had time to read were thoroughly enjoyable. And you are clearly capable of writing drabbles yourself. Also, I see no reason not to stick to this definition. I'm always up for serious writing rules
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(However, if I may take a moment to be a pedant, these are ficlets, not drabbles. I'll help you edit, if you like, and want them to be.)
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Apparently. A drabble is 100 words. If it's 99 words or 101 words, it's not a drabble, because part of the point is to be exactly 100 words.
And now to hedge, since I've been blunt. :)
The wikipedia entry says it's 100 words or less, but...the best authors in fandom--all fandoms I've seen--use it as specifically 100. That's why drabble comms are often named [fandomname]100.
There are a lot of people who use it to mean a short fic. And the definition is one of those things that people fight about. Based on my experience, you'll be taken far more seriously as a fic writer if you do the 100 word thing. But that is just my experience.
There was a great fandom dictionary I had in memories, but that LJ has been purged boo. But, to give some examples...
minervacat wrote a drabble for every episode of Sports Night, which is just absolutely brilliant. It's here, and so, so gorgeous.
marginalia and dorrie6 have paired up twice for drabble series: dorrito's every flavour mood beans, which are HP drabbles based on each LJ mood (WIP), and ( ... )
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Ahem. I'm not sure what the topic is but I'm sure I veered away from it. Anyway. . .
Thank you for the links and the clearly well-thought response. I am currently ignoring the Sports Night drabbles since I haven't seen the show yet but will hopefully change that soon. The few Harry Potter drabbles that I had time to read were thoroughly enjoyable. And you are clearly capable of writing drabbles yourself. Also, I see no reason not to stick to this definition. I'm always up for serious writing rules ( ... )
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