Drabble

From UnknowableWiki

A drabble is a work of fanfiction composed of between 100 and 500 words. A fic of under 100 words is usually referred to as Flash Fiction. Drabbles can often be similar to one-shots, due to their introspective nature and tendency to develop a certain character's motives. Often, drabbles are written in collections, usually with one overarching theme. This theme could be a certain pairing or a specific character. The Hourglass Awards at The Unknowable Room has a category for Drabbles and Drabble collections.

Writing Drabbles

The most important thing to remember about drabbles is how very short they are. These are not fics to pad out with interesting scenes or character descriptions, these fics are raw and stark. Every word counts. Drabbles should be very atmospheric and should drag, as opposed to draw, the reader in. Drabbles should give true insight into a character.

Tips for writing drabbles

• Read over your drabble when you have finished writing it and see if there is a sentence, a phrase, even a word that does not add to the meaning of the piece. If there is: cut it, it is likely clogging up your drabble.
• Having said that, drabbles should still be relatable. If your drabble is depicting a scene or a character, it is still worth adding a little description, but try and weave it into the tensions of the scene. For example, instead of saying 'Narcissa was beautiful, with her long pale hair', you might wait until later in the scene when Narcissa is talking to Lucius and say 'Narcissa tossed her pale hair seductively and said...' You can see that the second is more atmospheric and adds to the tension in the scene.
• Drabbles are all about tension: tensions between characters, tensions within characters and tensions between the characters and the reader. Think these tensions through before you start writing.
• If you are having trouble writing your drabble, try writing the scene out in full and then cutting it down. Don't worry if you find it difficult at the beginning: Mark Twain once said: 'I wrote a long story because writing a short one was too difficult.'