Comments on: Regarding Hint Fiction

By: Ray Cates

Ray Cates — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 23:25:11 +0000

What knowledge do you have when you are born? What do you forget during your first years, from all that happened before? Most of the world believes in past lives, past experience, being born again and again.

One story is found at http://nextk.wordpress.com Here in the 1st grade of Mrs. Crafty’s class, one boy somehow knows the future.

By: Ray Cates (Adolphus)

Ray Cates (Adolphus) — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 23:42:10 +0000

Writers can only tell the truth in fiction, and short stories are better than long wordy ones. Brevity is wonderful, the mind fills in blanks that are hinted at. Pictures are made in minds, and every head has it’s own story to spread in neurons. Little is a lot better.

By: Ray Cates

Ray Cates — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 07:47:12 +0000

If it’s fiction I love it, because fiction is real truth. What we actually remember is filtered by time, and that is fiction before it goes thru fingers and onto the page. (Sorry 32 words)

By: Major

Major — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 05:54:51 +0000

On a partol can’t tell you our mission, darness all around, the smell of explovies, everyone dead or wounded. No medals or awards just sadness.

By: Douglas McKinney

Douglas McKinney — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 15:20:05 +0000

I haven’t read everything you have on the site, but I think it bears mentioning that even longer-form fiction often — some may say always — leaves hints about a larger story beyond the words on the page. As many of my favorite songwriters repeatedly claim, there doesn’t have to be just one meaning for a song. What the reader (or listener in their case) brings from their own experiences will color their perceptions and interpretations.

While hint fiction may seem like poetry in its economy of words, the archaic yet historically recent definitions of poem and story are really just names imposed on forms of writing that have some traits in common, either in structure or purpose. If stories are good, whether they be personal reflections or flights of fancy, does it matter what forms they take? Everyone has their own answer, of course.

By: Daniel Olivas

Daniel Olivas — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 13:19:34 +0000

I just discovered hint fiction via another lit blog and I fell in love with the concept immediately. However, you are correct that some find it difficult to accept. My wonderful editor who was putting her final touches on my upcoming short story collection gently complained about one of my stories that clocked in at 100 words (I paste it below in case you’re curious). She said: “It’s not really a short story, is it? It’s more like a poem.” So, she suggested that I use it as a poem to begin the collection or put it at the end of the book. In other words, she wanted to segregate my little story sort of like an unruly child who has to sit all alone at a small table away from the adults. Sadly, I hadn’t heard of hint fiction before nor of your blog so I couldn’t send her “authority” that my story was actually a story. At least it’s staying in the collection (and I do love my editor, don’t get me wrong…this is the fourth book of mine that she’s edited). In any event, thank you for supporting all stories, big and small. Here’s my “offending” too-short story:

“Los Hermanos”

In the wake of morning’s love, los hermanos commenced building el pueblo from the ground up. By noon’s smile, the tight, happy cobblestone streets veined through el pueblo like breathing roots around strong, worthy homes, churches and schools. By afternoon, la gente, who now bustled through el pueblo, grew restless and vile. “This pueblo is too perfect,” they said. “We have no reason to strive!” So, la gente razed the strong, worthy buildings. With gory fingers, they dug up each happy cobblestone. And in evening’s horror, la gente snarled as they buried the weeping hermanos with el pueblo’s bloodstained rubble.

By: joe

joe — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 23:39:01 +0000

Personally I hate hint fiction. I actually think it should be called hate fiction. Or clue fiction. Or fict hintion. Or S.E. Hinton. The whole thing frightens me. It smacks of originality. Wit. Verve. It’s like flirting. Never got it. If I want fiction I’ll read Nicholas Sparks. Or a greeting card. Or a MACHINE WASH ONLY tag. Or a description of a DVD on a Redbox machine. Now that’s an idea. Hint fiction vending machines. Airports. Bus terminals. Okay, I like hint fiction now.

By: jonny kelly

jonny kelly — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 10:01:04 +0000

I read the interview when it was originally published online. And I remember it said something like; in a time where people are interested in texting and twitter hint fiction should be a big hit.
But I disagree with that. There are a lot of smart people who use twitter, including yourself, but really I think the people who use twitter, text and whatnot would rather read a Marian Keyes or Sophie Kinsella novel, because those kinds of novels explain every detail and leave nothing to the imagination.
I feel a large amont of people won’t take the time to figure the larger story within hint fiction, even though hint fiction is ambiguous and has a lot of possible stories.