Small Story published by 5×5 Fiction
Though they took me thirty minutes to write I love four out of five of the little short stories I submitted to “5×5 Fiction.” I ran into their site (5x5fiction) during a late night search for journals to submit a short story to, and though it is very independent with a very small audience, the criteria looked like fun:
“Complete stories… must be exactly 25 words long, told in exactly 5 sentences, with each sentence comprised of exactly 5 words.”
I wrote them quickly enough, submitted them, watched “Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths,” then went to sleep. Below are all five:
____________________________
“Sex is Not Love”
She wanted it to last. Forever would have been nice. She wanted to be loved. To know she wasn’t alone. Eventually he came, then left.
…[CLICK TITLE TO READ MORE]…
Life Inc.
I wrote this piece as an exercise in writing in the second person. I had to think for a while about a subject. Something that I knew so well that I could walk you through it and point out details that bring out the point I wanted to make about consumerism in America. I have a bit of experience in retail so that did it for me. I hope this does it for you. If it does please let me know.
____________________________
In the middle of Main Street stands City Center Mall. It’s a relatively new mall, only having been around for a year, but business is constant, and its stores are always filled with shoppers. You walk pass the mall’s entrance and notice the huge banners hung on the front of the box shaped building. Words written in steel blue ask you to “Find What Defines You.” Along with the inviting words are images of happy and pretty people holding cheap and pretty solutions to their life’s problems. You take the invitation and walk in.
By far the mall’s most popular store is Widgets, an electronics franchise that prides itself on being the place where “shopping is fun again.” Entering the mall you head for Widgets by way of elevator. The first thing to catch your eye once you’ve reached the top floor is a huge display of the company’s logo. Positioned above the entrance the sign violently grabs your attention, and for a few seconds your stare is fixed.
The Widgets logo is a yellow star burst set against a navy blue background and containing bold black letters that spell out “WIDGETS.” According to consumer psychologists three is the optimal number of elements for a memorable logo – in this case a star burst, black letters and a blue background. It’s a conscious attempt by Widgets to invade your unconscious and stamp themselves into the consumer’s brain. After being stamped you snap out of the gaze and continue walking towards the automatically opening doors.
…[CLICK TITLE TO READ MORE]…
