55 Fiction
Encyclopedia
55 Fiction is a form of microfiction that refers to the works of fiction that are either limited to a maximum of fifty-five words or have a requirement of exactly 55 words (no more and no less).
. New Times, while often mistakenly believed to be part of the New Times chain of papers, is actually part of the smaller, San Luis Obispo-county based New Times Media Group, which also owns the Santa Maria Sun.
Many new versions of the 55 Fiction have started to modify on the rules by either ignoring the rule to include conflict, or basing it on a true incident and dramatising it.
The books have been highly prized by college creative writing professors and high school teachers, who often either suggest or require that their students read them.
The publisher of the 55 Fiction books, John Daniel, of Daniel & Daniel Publishers, Inc., McKinleyville, Calif., [www.danielpublishing.com] continues to print editions of them.
As a result, the concept was only propagated through New Times and by word-of-mouth in its early days. However, with the advent of the internet
in the 1990s and especially after the popularization of blogging, the spread of 55 Fiction concept was accelerated. People started to write their own 55 Fiction works in their blogs, often inviting others to write one themselves. There were also cases of non-commercial hosting of 55 Fiction Contests on the blogs with reasonably good success.
Steve Moss, whose full name was Stephen Donnellan Moss, died on April 24, 2005, of complications of epilepsy
. He was 56. The 55 Fiction copyright inured to Moss' family.
Origin
The origin of 55 Fiction can be traced to a short story writing contest organized by New Times, an independent alternative weekly in San Luis Obispo, California, in 1987. The idea was proposed by New Times founder and publisher Steve MossSteve Moss
Stephen Donnellan Moss was an editor and publisher who founded two major weekly newspapers in California’s Central Coast and created the 55 Fiction short story contest....
. New Times, while often mistakenly believed to be part of the New Times chain of papers, is actually part of the smaller, San Luis Obispo-county based New Times Media Group, which also owns the Santa Maria Sun.
Criteria
A literary work will be considered 55 Fiction if it has:- Fifty-five words or less (A non-negotiable rule), however some publishers actually require exactly 55 words, no more and no less (does not include a title; which however is also limited to seven words)
- A setting,
- One or more characters,
- Some conflict, and
- A resolution. (Not limited to moral of the story)
- The title of the story is not part of the overall word count, but it still can’t exceed seven words.
Many new versions of the 55 Fiction have started to modify on the rules by either ignoring the rule to include conflict, or basing it on a true incident and dramatising it.
Elements
As the limit on words is strictly put, the words of a good 55 Fiction have to be chosen very carefully. The following constitute the main elements of a 55 Fiction:- Drama: Most 55 Fiction works are dramatised so as to get the effect in limited time.
- Suspense: This is regarded as an essential element of 55 Fiction work. Never until the last sentence, does the actual theme of the story emerge.
- Shock: Most 55 Fiction works incorporate what is known as a Last Sentence Shock. This is usually done carefully by adding double meaning or confusing words throughout the story so as to misguide the reader into thinking about a different theme for the story. This results in a shock for the reader who comes to know about the story's actual theme in the last sentence itself. Mostly, it translates to the reader having to read the story again to convince himself/herself that the plot is consistent.
Variations
As an experimental variation of 55 Fiction, 55 Poetry was also experimented by others but it was largely a failure as short poetry had been accepted, and written, for a long time already.Books based on 55 Fiction
As the 55 Fiction concept is a copyright of Steve Moss of New Times, only two books have been published on the concept. They are based on the submissions for the 55 Fiction Contest organized by the magazine. The books are:- The World's Shortest Stories: Murder, Love, Horror, Suspense, All This and Much More in the Most Amazing Short Stories Ever Written, Each One Just 55 Words Long.
- The World's Shortest Stories of Love and Death: Passion, Betrayal, Suspicion, Revenge, All This and More in a New Collection of Amazing Short Stories-Each One Just 55 Words Long.
The books have been highly prized by college creative writing professors and high school teachers, who often either suggest or require that their students read them.
The publisher of the 55 Fiction books, John Daniel, of Daniel & Daniel Publishers, Inc., McKinleyville, Calif., [www.danielpublishing.com] continues to print editions of them.
Development in contemporary society
The copyright nature of the theme prohibited others from professionally organizing 55 Fiction Competitions. However, recognizing an opportunity, Moss granted permission to other publications to hold their own contests, so long as he had the exclusive right to publish the best results in book form. A requirement for submission of a story soon included a written agreement that the copyright for publication in book form was Moss'.As a result, the concept was only propagated through New Times and by word-of-mouth in its early days. However, with the advent of the internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
in the 1990s and especially after the popularization of blogging, the spread of 55 Fiction concept was accelerated. People started to write their own 55 Fiction works in their blogs, often inviting others to write one themselves. There were also cases of non-commercial hosting of 55 Fiction Contests on the blogs with reasonably good success.
The 55 Fiction Competition
The 55 Fiction Competition has been continuously organized by New Times ever since it was introduced in 1987. The competition is an annual event with open participation.Steve Moss, whose full name was Stephen Donnellan Moss, died on April 24, 2005, of complications of epilepsy
Epilepsy
Epilepsy is a common chronic neurological disorder characterized by seizures. These seizures are transient signs and/or symptoms of abnormal, excessive or hypersynchronous neuronal activity in the brain.About 50 million people worldwide have epilepsy, and nearly two out of every three new cases...
. He was 56. The 55 Fiction copyright inured to Moss' family.