I began micro-fiction writing earlier this year without any experience in flash fiction after a review of other authors as noted in my previous post. There are many Twitter stories from writers, veterans and beginners, told in their own streams or in Twitter publications. Some stories I don’t understand, and others I might find amusing for subject matter over quality. (See my favorites.) And a tiny few hit the sweet spot: well written lasting impressions with broad appeal, the rare gem. I continue to hone my skill at conciseness.

The editor of @Nanoism, Ben White, searches for the story with “staying power.” See the guidelines for complete details, or try one of the other Twitterzines shown on the right under Microfiction. And read some of their selections to see if your story fits.

This week two of my stories appear in publications: “Lunch Swap” in @Picfic and another school related story in @Seedpodpub.

A selection of my recent attempts from my Twitter feed on the path to the rare gem:

“After erasing the board, Jon took chalk from the mechanical hand. He wrote, “I will not build robots to do my punishment.” #vss ” Posted September 4th, 2009.

“Hearing Jill’s vacation story, Bill crumples his paper. He writes a new story, none of it true. Ms. May has strict rules about plagiarism. ” Posted September 3rd, 2009.

“Quiet, cat-like, ballerinas surround Gary. Poised like poison, their eyes cut into him. Tossing his wallet, Gary runs. ” Posted September 1st, 2009.

“Beauty rests in a glass casket. Silence is bliss. Yearning to hold her, he opens the casket. She rises. The chatter never ends. ” Posted August 16th, 2009.

“Gracefully, the ballerinas twirl at him. Ducking and weaving, he dodges until they surround him. The slashing blades cut like a blender. ” Posted August 14th, 2009.

Twitter gives authors a means to share micro-fiction constrained by the 140-character limit, an exercise in conciseness. Fiction across Twitter appears as poetry, serials, and single micro-fiction tales including a few six-word stories. Tweet the Meat offers a dollar—generous considering the word count—for publishing horror micro-fiction.

My goal is to tweet a few micro-fiction stories each week. They mix with other posts, so here are a few of my attempts including two of exactly 140 characters:

“Gliding on toes, she danced along the path. A werewolf crept, waited. He asked about her day. Smiling, she offered wine and went on her way.” Posted June 10th, 2009.

“Night wore a dress of darkness gliding over the land. Ushering Sleep and Death, she chased after Dusk, shadow in hand. ” Posted June 18th, 2009.

“As Luna met Sol for midday tea, Dawn hugged Dusk in the shadow-night. The tea too brief, Dawn found her arms empty on the far side of Night. ” Posted June 19th, 2009.

For other micro-fiction, see the following authors: @arjunbasu, @twae sometimes incorporates physics, @midnightstories posts precisely at midnight central time, @trapphic has a web page on micro-fiction, @mythmashed tells a story one tweet at a time, and @VeryShortStory.

Publishers:  @tweetthemeat, @Nanoism, @Outshine, and @thaumatrope.

Many more authors reside on Twitter. Find others by checking out following and favorite lists of those listed above. Some mix stories with other posts, but several have a dedicated feed for stories.

Try a 140-character story in the comments or tweet.