Last Saturday, Weekend magazine invited 21 authors to try their hand at writing Twitter fiction. As many of our book site regulars will remember, we've experimented with Flash Fiction fiction in the past and discovered that writing a complete story in just 140 characters is no mean feat.
The general consensus on Twitter seems to be that your favourite was Ian Rankin's story of betrayal and brutal revenge:
I opened the door to our flat and you were standing there, cleaver raised. Somehow you'd found out about the photos. My jaw hit the floor
That said, Helen Fielding's piece also got a lot of Twitter support:
OK. Should not have logged on to your email but suggest if going on marriedaffair.com don't use our children's names as password.
This wasn't a competition - we'll not be launching a new prize for brief literature any time soon, but it is interesting to see which stories you enjoyed. Many people mentioned Hemingway's famous short story: Baby Shoes. For sale. Never Worn. And dinosaurio quoted this by Augusto Monterroso:
Cuando despertó, el dinosaurio todavía estaba ahí.
In English: "When he(/she/it) woke up, the dinosaur was still there.
Inspired by the author's Twitter fiction, many of you composed your own stories and shared them via Twitter. We've collected together a few below, but there just wasn't enough room to include them all, so I urge you to read them all by searching for the tag #140novel on Twitter.
It's also not too late for you to add your own tale to the growing library, but please do remember to include the hashtag #140novel to ensure we don't miss your tweet, or post it in the comment thread under the article.
Eric saw flashing lights as he drove through the fog. Next thing he knew, long bony fingers prodding him under bright lights #140Novel
— PARTIALLY COLLIDED® (@McTheMac) October 15, 2012
"You know what Mr Grey?" she said smiling. "I'd rather go home, have a cup of tea and watch Corrie". She lived happily ever after. #140novel
— Victoria Wright (@VictoriaMWright) October 13, 2012
I held the mirror up to her lips. No cloud of breath. She smiled & I realised the oddest thing. Her face was perfectly symmetrical.#140novel
— Moose Allain (@MooseAllain) October 15, 2012
@crickchris :) #140novel She ran away to join the circus. Greasepaint, sawdust and after being wooed by the plate spinner, a daughter.
— Charlie Plunkett (@charlieplunkett) October 15, 2012
Barry's hand gripped the staple gun. He knew it had a full clip. One more word from Doris's mouth about the weather, just one more #140novel
— David Bishop (@broadfordbrewer) October 15, 2012
"Get a life!" you said, slamming the door. I was not sure what you meant. I already had 7 extra lives and was only at level 3. #140novel
— Börkur Sigurbjörn... (@borkurdotnet) October 15, 2012
#140novel There once was a very decisive ant, not caring about a thing besides the one crumb it has on its back.Poor thing tripped and died
— H (@Hag_Ghamdi) October 15, 2012
