Nanonovels

After a conversation with a friend about the observer effect and its application to literature, I’ve  been preoccupied with creating something that engages directly with that idea. I’ve come up with a few possible executions, one of which is something I’m calling (after a good suggestion from another friend) the nanonovel.

Here’s how the nanonovel works: I write an incredibly short story and post it to Twitter with the hashtag #nanonovel. Then you read it. Once you’ve read it, tell me what you think of it. What happened in the nanonovel? What did you take certain things to mean, how did you interpret them? Was there a lead-up to the novel, or something that occurred after the novel? If so, what were the rest of the events you envisioned? How did they shape what you took away from the story? Really get into some depth for me if you can, perhaps even read the nanonovel again a day or so later and see what changes the second time around. This is as much an experiment for me as it is a writing exercise, so your feedback is absolutely crucial–the more the better! I’ll be sure to create a space for comments here at Drawing Coffee for each nanonovel as it appears, so bring all your feedback here.

Every nanonovel will be posted to my Twitter, so if you want to see them as they happen, follow me there. Don’t forget to check back at Drawing Coffee to post your interpretations of each nanonovel.  And if you feel so inclined, feel free to use nanonovel-writing as an exercise for your narrative skills, too–just add #nanonovel at the end of your own Twitter offerings.

(Thanks so much to Vikram Jadhao and Kevin Welch, who made this possible.)

Archived nanonovels: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19