Yesterday I mentioned twitfic - complete stories in 140 characters or less. Today I read some flash fiction - complete stories in 1000 words or less. Mostly a lot less. I don't know what I expected, but much of what I read was, frankly, incomprehensible.
Maybe I just found a tough batch, but I had to re-read many of these stories several times. I thought I more or less knew what was going on plot-wise (though I hesitate to use the word plot), but there were inconsistencies and loose ends that I could not reconcile. While it's possible this was plain bad writing, comments from other readers suggest I'm just too dim to understand.
I knew it. I was once considered quite bright by standard measures, but I've suspected for a long time now that I'm getting dumber. It started with my first pregnancy and got much worse with my second. I should sign up for long-term care insurance before it's too late.
I just realized a lot of it read like Gravity's Rainbow by Thomas Pynchon. (I must be 200 pages behind in moonrat's read-along by now.) The difference is that Pynchon's prose overwhelms you with detail, while bad flash fiction overwhelms you with the lack of it.
ReplyDeleteAnother thought: I have a new appreciation for the people who create great TV commercials.
ReplyDelete