Hint Fiction

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Nano Fiction Contest

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Ben White, editor of Nanoism, is hosting a new contest that runs until the end of the year, with yours truly as the judge. Here are the details:

Dearest Nanofans,

You may have thought 2011 would come and go without an opportunity to participate in yet another great bite-sized creative-writing contest extravaganza. But you’d be wrong, since we’re squeezing our annual contest into the last sliver of the year. For those of you familiar with our charity contest last year, the gist is the same. It’s the holiday season, and what better way to end the year than with stories that fit anywhere and with money flowing to those who need it most.

The Details:

  • The contest is open starting now until 11:59pm on January 1st, 2012.
  • Everyone and anyone gets one free entry to the contest.
  • Every dollar you donate to the charity of your choice (after December 5, 2011) gets you another entry.
  • Every dollar you donate also nets you a chance to win one of our randomly-awarded prizes, which are listed below.
  • This year’s judge is none other than Robert Swartwood, the father of Hint Fiction (our well-titled sibling in the world of itty bitty stories). Mr. Swartwood has also graciously donated an ebook copy of his new very short fiction collection, Phantom Energy, to all donating contestants.

(If you’re in need of a charitable inspiration, we heartily recommend Partners in Health, an NGO healthcare group that help build hospitals as well as staff, teach, and provide healthcare in some places that need it desperately, including Haiti, where their amazing work continues).

Cash Prizes (+publication/fame):

1st place: $25 2nd place: $15 3rd place: $10 Honorable mentions: A virtual pat on the back.

The prize pool (for those who donate)

Everyone will receive an ebook edition of Phantom Energy, as well as a chance to win prizes from some amazing publications that deserve your support all year long:

Can you come up with 140 characters of pure awesomeness? If so, check out the rest of the guidelines here.

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Being Flynn

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I was told awhile ago that a portion of this movie would be shot in the Housing Works Bookstore and that a copy of Hint Fiction, as well as various other Norton titles, would be displayed (the book the movie is based upon, Another Bullshit Night in Suck City, is also a Norton title). I have no idea whether a glimpse of the anthology made the final cut, but still, the movie looks good and is no doubt worth checking out.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NHZfQDgkqiM

Just Over One Year Ago Today

... the Hint Fiction anthology was released into the world (or, at least, the United States). Like any writer, I was nervous. I knew the book would have a lot of critics, especially those die hard traditionalists who always think themselves the life of the party when really they're the death. I knew the book was already fighting an uphill battle, what with it being something completely new with no real audience.

Who was going to buy it? Who was even going to care?

Of course, as it turned out, there wasn't much to worry about. The anthology received favorable reviews from the likes of The New Yorker, The Los Angeles Times, and The Denver Post, among many other blogs and publications. It was featured on NPR's Weekend Edition Saturday with Scott Simon, which helped propel sales like crazy. I was interviewed by Sean Moncrieff of Newstalk, Ireland’s independent talk radio station. The Gotham Writers Workshop made Hint Fiction one of their writing contests. There were group readings/signing with several of the contributors in Los Angeles and New York City and Philadelphia, and then later at AWP in Washington, D.C -- where there was even a packed panel talking about the form. The Nervous Breakdown chose the anthology as one of their favorite books of the year.

You'd think that was it, right?

Wrong.

In addition to all of those wonderful things happening, the hits just kept on coming.

The Columbia Art League hosted an art show inspired by the anthology (in fact, the show's only open for a few more days, so if you're in the area, check it out). There's currently a Hint Fiction Film Contest, which will premiere at next year's Vail Film Festival. And I know of several classes (both college and high school) that teach Hint Fiction, if not briefly, in their creative writing workshops.

How many copies of the anthology have sold? Well, I don't have an exact number, but I did get a statement from the publisher not too long ago, and between October of last year and this past March, there were about 13,000 copies sold, between print and digital.

That ain't too shabby for a book that was inspired by a little essay that was never meant to be much of anything, huh?

So what does the future hold for Hint Fiction?

I have no idea.

The one question I get asked most often is whether there are plans for a second volume. And the answer I give most often (because it's the only answer) is no. Obviously the book did well and was very well received, and I think right now that's good enough. After all, you don't want to overdo a good thing. If the time is right for a second volume and there's great demand, then sure, I'll consider putting together another anthology. But right now I like the idea of there being only one.

But I do sometimes worry that Hint Fiction may eventually overstay its welcome. Some people call it gimmicky, and maybe it is. The truth is you can make a gimmick out of pretty much anything. I'm not here to defend Hint Fiction to the death. People are entitled to their own opinions. My main goal out of all of this was for readers and writers to think outside the box, to understand writing should not be restricted to arbitrary rules, to realize that stories so small can sometimes be quite powerful.

But with such a limited space to navigate, how much more is there to explore? Before, Hint Fiction was something new and exciting. There was no specific structure or rule, so writers were making them up as they went. But now that the anthology has been out and more places are publishing these very short stories, I've begun to see a pattern. The stories, for the most part, are beginning to follow a formula. There aren't really many more surprises to be had in those twenty-five words. I noticed this in the past Hint Fiction contest I hosted last spring, and because of that I'm hesitant to host another one.

Because the very last thing I want to see is Hint Fiction become stale and boring.

It's still, in many ways, the new kid on the block.

My hope is that it stays strong and manages to hold its own, no matter what comes its way.