100 Words and a Happy Birthday

There's been a writing experiment on the internet for a long time, called 100 Words. Originally, the concept was to write 100 words for 100 days. Then it was shortened to 100 words for 30 days. I have read several blogs where the writers are randomly doing their 100 words, not sticking to any time frame, just tossing in the 100 words whenever they feel like it. I like that idea, though the 100 in 30 is an intriguing exercise to me, as well. After all, if I can do 50K in 30 for NaNo, well...how hard can it be to do 100 teeny little words in a day?

(Back when I was writing a lot--professionally and personally--I used to concentrate on short stories. I loved the idea of writing so succinctly--and the shorter the better--that I could tell a story like O. Henry in just a few pages, if not paragraphs. Eventually I broadened my scope, wanting to relate more details, create a more full-bodied story, and over time, I wrote myself away from the shorts.)

The 100 words notion appeals to me. How much story can you actually convey in 100 words? This morning I wrote the first idea that came into my head. I thought it was short. It was 115 words. Hmm. I pared it down, taking out a whole paragraph. Well, nuts. Now it was down to 94 words. Okay, add a few more words here, shift this sentence, and voila...right? Wrong. Now I'm up to 105. Seriously, how hard can it be to write a meager 100 words? Very hard, as it turns out. Especially as it can only be 100--no more, no less.

I dinked with this wee story for quite awhile. I'm rethinking doing the 100 in 30 deal. I don't think I have enough time in the day to revise, edit, rework, start over, write the blasted words. I can write 2,000 with no trouble, but 100? Holy crap.

Still. I might do the 100 words in the random way other bloggers are. Maybe if I can get my mind away from long chapters and whole books, I can remember how to write short and sweet. It might be interesting to see what happens.

In the meantime, here's my very first attempt at:

100 Words

Walking into the building, she did a quick scan.  Her gaze stopped abruptly when their eyes locked.

He froze, afraid to move, to break the spell.   Please, be here for me.

Love at first sight.  Compelled, winding her way between the other people in the room, so focused the voices and sounds around her nothing more than meaningless babble.

When she stood in front of him, they stared at each other for a heartbeat before she dropped to her knees and pulled him into her arms. “This one,” she said, smiling up at the woman from the dog adoption center.

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Today is Max's 4th birthday, hence the reason I picked him for the 100 Words experiment. Course, we don't really know this is his birthday, but it's the day we chose, and according to our incredibly cool veterinarian, Dr Barry, he was about 3 years old last December when we adopted him.

He's been the best little dog ever, and I feel privileged to be his human. Happy Birthday, buddy...