As a January birthday gift to myself, I set out to write one 54-word story for 54 days. Some of these micro-mini stories (which I like to think of as snapshots or vignettes) gathered in community as I went along. One such group is focused on the recurrence of a character I named Frank Flannagan, his fiancée-turned-wife-turned-ex-wife, and Frank’s aunt Fleur. The other collected bundle was a personal challenge to define the 13 distinct personalities of playing cards—in no particular order or loyalty for a single suit.
The surprise of where writing takes me is its greatest gift. The effort it takes, the bodily toll—because: yes, trying to convey the tight knot of deeply felt experience inside you as a different, unique but equal emotional thing is actually physically painful sometimes—it’s all worth it when even one person reads the words on the page/screen and feels something too when they encounter it.
Here, some selections from Fifty | Four.
7 of Hearts, Crushing, Color Wheel
Community Chest, Gossip Swamp, Sandhill & The City and Bento Box
Over the Atlantic, Jack of Diamonds, A Preparation and a Harvest, and Unleashed