I’ve recently been inspired by a fellow blogger to try flash-fiction on for size (specifically: the 150-words-or-less variety). I thought it was a great way to sneak some fiction into my blog without boring my readers to mutiny. I quickly discovered that this challenging form is a lot of fun and, at the very least, a great warm-up exercise for other writing.
And if you hate its guts, it’s only 150 words long–my shortest post to date!
Lead Balloon
Max kept his gaze fixed on the purple party balloon as it moved over the clouds, his eyes sharp as glass. The balloon swooped higher, higher, and Max couldn’t let it get away. He’d kept his eyes on that purple speck for three hours now, thinking of nothing else. The air grew thin. The balloon had a string and there was an envelope dangling. A sappy letter he, on second thought, wished he’d kept to himself.
The cool tip of the control stick pointed to his chest from deep between his knees. A stream of spit rolled over his lips, went down his stubbly chin.
Then he heard the propellers above him start to cough and whine—the stuff in his stomach curdled. His helicopter had finally run out of fuel. The balloon sailed on. . .
