Do you know how to write a Drabble?

Published on by Jean M. Cogdell

D= Drabble

There were almost too many choices for this letter but I chose Drabble because it’s a fun. But it’s Drabble for today’s A-Z Challange. 

Drabble

Here’s what I’ve learned over the past year from an amazing Web of Writing Bloggers about this strange word.

  1. A Drabble is a short work of fiction of one hundred words in length. Exactly 100 words. Not 99 or 101. (Although, due to popularity, some writers/bloggers have expanded this for special challenges to various, specific word counts.)
  2. The purpose is brevity, testing the author’s ability to express interesting and meaningful ideas in a confined space.
  3. Keep characters to a minimum, one or two work best. More characters require more words.
  4. Avoid heavy prose. Waxing prosaic eats up the word count. 
  5. Stuck in the middle of a scene? Write a Drabble to bust through.
  6. A Drabble is still a story, and must have a beginning, middle and end.
  7. Make the reader think with a twist or surprise ending.
  8. A joke is a good example of a Drabble. A good joke that is. You set the scene, something happens and then a surprise ending that gets a laugh from your audience.

Taking a subject, word or idea and writing in a quick sit down helps my brain work. Stories begin to take shape as do characters. It’s like meeting someone at a party, and all the way home all you can do is talk about that brief encounter.

Writing little bits of flash, that capture short moments of time is one of my favorite exercises. Sometimes the tiny paragraph of only 100 words is a diving board for a longer story but most of the time it’s just plain fun.

Give it a try. Check out many of the writing challenges, try fan fiction or just play with the process. You might be surprised at what you can accomplish with just 100 words.

Tell me, is this a new word for you? 

Do you take part in 100-word challenges?

Talk to me, comments are now open.

You can find me on Twitter @jeancogdell, Facebook at jean.cogdelland Amazon.com, stop by and say hey! Please remember to click and share this post with your Twitter peeps and Facebook fans.

For more info on ways to get started, below are additional websites about writing and understanding Drabble.

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Plot Generator

How to Write a Drabble  by  Michael Brookes

What’s A Drabble? by Jake Bible

How to Write a Story in 100 Words by Melissa Grabowski

Drabble-writing prompt words at Wordnik

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27 thoughts on “Do you know how to write a Drabble?”

  1. It’s new to me. It sounds like fun. It’s amazing really. I’ve been around writers for so long now and I’ve heard of all kinds of writing exercises and I’ve never even heard this word. It does sound like something I would like to try. I’m not really sure I understand exactly what to do so I’m going to have to read some more. I’m always open to anything that will spark my creativity on those days when my brain just won’t cooperate. Thanks for another fun writing exercise.

    http://melissasugarwrites.com

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    1. Often these are referred to as 100 flash fiction. The object of a Drabble is to adhere to exactly the word count. No more or no less, and to produce a complete story.

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  5. Drabbles are my favourite pieces to write. I’m writing longer because I feel like I ought to, but it doesn’t have the same excitement as the short pieces, for me. i hadn’t come across some of those Drabble resources before, thanks for sharing. Ooh, and I’d love it if you did put a book together of Drabbles, I’m doing one, we could compare!

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