The Secret of the Short Short Story – an intro

Here’s what I know about short-short story writing.

Title — a big part of the appeal, but can’t fix a poor opening line.
Opening sentence — if this doesn’t enlighten and entice your reader will stop
Opening paragraph — set the scene, provide local and date-driven color, and bring the reader along for a quick story
The story — there needs to be an arc, a reason we care
The ending — master the twist, but don’t overdo it

The best short-short stories are fun to read. They leave you having experienced an abbreviated adventure. They don’t take long to read, so you can read a handful, depending on your time. They don’t take too long to write. I can’t write a chapter or an article during my normal work hours. Doing a SSS is easy.

Interleaved Letter Sequences (101 short-short stories)

/ˌin(t)ərˈlēv/ def: the interspersing of fields or channels of different meaning sequentially in memory.

* not one of these characters is real, this is short fiction.

1. Dead End (black ice)
2. Two Senses Clash (anesthesia)
3. White Ennui (a good job)
4. Holding Space (an inhospitable place)
5. Ecstacy of St. Francis (gentle mystic)
6. A Chemistry of Spirits (memories and conversations)
7. Walking Along the Edge (snow blind)
8. Forget the Last Thing I Said (self)
9. Woman Overwhelmed (furious patience)
10. When In Paris (portrait of the artist)
11. Generational Wealth (preschool friends)
12. “I Don’t Have Orgasms,” She Said (online hookup)
13. What Is It About New York? (aspirational growth)
14. There Were No Wise Men (two asses talking)
15. Skedaddle (on the volcano)
16. Out the Window (harbinger of pain)
17. Alexa Is Running the Show (adverse intelligence)
18. Vape Vape Everything’s Fine (addiction)
19. Blue Man Shopping (what’s the big idea)
20. Dance Lesson No. 2 (smooth jazz)
21. Crushing Static (torture and teeth)
22. Neuroplasticity (and affirmations)
23. In Other Words (duo lingo)
24. Sublingual (word seeking)
25. I Do Know It’s Me (naturally high)
26. The Oddest Thing (practically sane)
27. Pick and Choose (fatherless)
28. Nothing On Pornhub (lesbian tendencies)
29. The Metaverse Describes Itself (ChatGPT Gives It a Go)
30. Her Love Was Strong (what are you drinking?)
31. Deep Fake (looking in the wrong places)
32. The Eyes Have It (lethal moments)
33. Music In the Car (asimov’s gambit)
34. Girl in the Pool (am I high or dreaming)
35. A Moment Frozen in Time (the divorce brochure)
36. Saying “I’m Sorry” Doesn’t Make it Better (don’t ask me again)
37. Privacy Rising (your phone is bleeding)
38. Now That I’ve Danced Myself Out of the Room (missing the big love)
39. What Is Your Deepest Intention? (I’ve been good too long)
40. Just In Time for the Butterflies (every ending is a new beginning)
41. Learning Loneliness (seeking my own adventure)
42. The Hidden Message (previous lovers)
43. Your Halo Is Not Here (two women)
44. Forgetting the Danger ( icy water)
45. Pressure of Starlight (what is emerging)
46. The Longest Last Winter Together (losing my head)
47. Eloquence Lost (creative happiness)
48. Out of the Loop (passing shots)
49. I Can Be Whatever You Want (beginning and ending)
50. The Mosquito (losing blood)
51. If I Could Talk I’d Tell You (she forgot to mention)
52. We’ll Always Have Nola (drinks in the quarter)
53. Killing Starlings (we’re all mad here)
54. The Last Amazing Cat (me and my shadow)
55. Escape Velocity (darkness visible)
56. Lover Falls (everyone loves a puppy)
57. Sorry, Yes (a shaggy dog story)
58. Misty Morning at the Lake (losing Vermont)
59. A Few Lurid Details (quest for love)
60. You Know They Put Wires In Your Heart, Right? (carto vizigo)
61. Sons and Lovers (i still dream of your kiss)
62. A Slow Bleeding Out (lover’s leap)
63. Rather Not Write About Her (seeking release)
64. I Want to Disappear (final respects)
65. Telling Detail (that’s Mr. Bradbury to you)
66. Doing What You Hate (emotional variability)
67. The High Way (a new puppy)
68. Sprint By Sprint (rehoming)
69. The Luckiest Man Alive (is this your dog?)
70. The Most Beautiful Girl’s Sadness (her hair, her hair was alive)
71. “Sorry” Won’t Suffice (it’s not always about you)
72. Losing Eva (i tried to be nice)
73. A Dangerous View (snowbird)
74. From the Flip Side (manager miscue)
75. Satellites of Love (aglow in orbit)
76. Flawed Treasure Maps (near misses at happiness)
77. Listen to the Sound of My Voice ( illuminating ghosts)
78. Behind My House (rain for days)
79. The Empty Home of a Heart in Trouble* (love has nothing to do with it)
80. Delays Expected (I have something to show you)
81. The Future Is An Attitude (life at altitude)
82. Coffee and Air Conditioning (baby, it’s hot outside)
83. Something In the Way (let’s stay home tonight)
84. Start at the Ending (don’t spoil it for me)
85. Just Like Eating a Banana (ust a banana story)
86. The Ping is the Thing (are you receiving me?)
87. This Remains a Love Story (she’s around)
88. International Cat Day (laughing with the dogs)
89. The Monkeypox Roundtable (the girl with ja wobble)
90. You’re On Mute (online dating)
91. Translation Not Found (vacation complications)
92. Unavoidable Trouble (musical cute girl)
93. Early Riser (at the end of a marriage)
94. Survival (nline dating — first date)
95. Pixels of You (single dad and his daughter)
96. Heart On (client-therapist privilege)
97. Ambien and Me (closing moments of a relationship)
98. Hawk Power (tennis fetish)
99. Asimov’s Dream (golden opportunity)
100. Heaven Is a Place (opening gambit of love)
101. Only a Week Since My Lover Left (breakups are confusing)

End of first book of short-short stories.