The Post's 42-Word Story Competition
Created | Updated Nov 20, 2008
42 Word Story Competition
Those of you who spend more time online than you should have probably heard of a website called 'Twitter'βin which you 'twitter inanely about the minutiae of your dull lives'. Twitter's main gimmick is the fact that you're limited to a set number of characters, so you have to think about everything you type.
Here at h2g2, we've got a thing about the number 42β but 42 characters isn't an awful lot of room. How about 42 words though? Can you tell a proper story in 42 words? If you think you can, send an email to the Post Team before midnight on Sunday 2nd November, 2008. The winner will then be decided by a public vote.
So go on! Get scribbling! And here's a couple of examples to get you thinking:
Arthur wasn't happy. Home gone, best friend's not actually from Guildford, no tea. Not to mention the fact that Vogons, mice and heavily armed guards keep shooting at him. It must be a Thursday. He never could get the hang of Thursdays.
'One!' Wrote the writer, fingers hammering away at the keys. 'Then quickly, a mad dash to seventeen words, and not a single word wasted!' A glance at the counter β thirty one. 'Damn! Not close enough!' Another glance β 'Thirty nine'.
'Just close enough.'