Of Curiosity Capsules

Edition 4: Moodling into 100 word stories - examples, the mechanics of how and competitions!

Hello dear moodler. I’m so happy to report that I have a new edition of the Curiosity Capsule for you! As you may have noticed, I’ve become a tad hooked on writing 100 word stories over the last few months! I wrote these years ago, along with six word stories but the nudge to start again here on Substack came from Free Writing Friday by

Erica Drayton

. If you haven’t already, head over to my Fictional Moodling section to read them! You can also read my “Summer of Magic” series which are also 100-word stories!

A wonder question
(which is essentially being curious about something)

Whilst I was journaling this morning, I asked myself a “wonder” question, as I often do:

I wonder why I like writing micro-fiction so much? Especially when I also like writing long form?

One of my guiding principles for life is to pay attention, especially when I am outdoors. For almost a decade the practice of finding Everyday Delights has been the backbone of my photography - looking for all those things around me that others might miss (textures, patterns, lines etc), looking to capture a moment or “collecting moments” as I call it.

Telling the story of a moment in time

I guess the biggest allure of the 100 word story format is writing about a micro-experience, or telling the story of a moment in time. I actually did this years ago when I wrote six word stories for my photographs, one of which was called Serendipitous Pencil Shavings. Here’s another: Leafy Six Word Stories.

© Deborah Ann Stott 2014-2023

Another plus for me, is that this format allows me to practise writing a story every day. I often find myself scrabbling around for paper or a notebook when I am waiting for something to cook, or when I’m at the dentist - these snatched moments are perfect for writing about what is happening in the moment.

I’ve kind of jumped into writing 100 word stories this year without worrying about the how (which for a Virgo like me, is unheard of). But today, as I read other stories and saw how many competitions there are for this writing format, I became curious about the mechanics of writing them - what do others say about it?

Curiosity Capsule: Edition 4 - 100 word stories!

These are some of the ideas I came across in a quick Google exploration and which I think I’ll add to my Curiosity Capsule for this edition (If you’re wondering what this Curiosity Capsule is all about, read this).

• I found examples of 100 word stories. Oh my, there are so many out there.

  • I remembered that long ago, I used to enjoy reading them on 100wordstory.org

  • Also on Friday Flash Fiction

• Advice on how to structure a 100 word story is also easy to find. Here are some I enjoyed reading and found useful:

  • How to write a 100 word narrative

  • How to write a 100 word story

  • The Ultimate Guide To Flash Fiction

  • How to write flash fiction

• And finally, I’m happy to report that there are a plethora of competitions focused on 100 word stories. Here’s just three of the 85,700,000 Google results!

  • Readers Digest UK

  • First Story 100 Word Story Competition (UK)

  • Tiny Memoir Contest for Students: Write a 100-Word Personal Narrative

Not only are these ideas going into my Curiosity Capsule, but I am actually going to try some of the tips from the “how to” articles.

I’ll meet you in the comments. Let me know if you’ve discovered someone new through this post today. I’d love to know what you think of the Curiosity Capsule. Leave a comment on any or all of the items, or just say hi!

I hope, dear moodler, that your curiosity will lead you to explore something new this week / weekend. Until next time, this is toodles from the Curiosity Capsule.  

PS: If you want to make sure you get notified when I publish a new 100 word story, then read this post (the instructions are at the end!)

If you’re wondering what to look at next, take a moodle around these:

• Like, comment on, share or restack this post (or all!)

• Read other editions of the Curiosity Capsules

• Read some of my micro-fiction (mostly 100-word stories, including collabs with other Substackers)

• If you want to collaborate with me, fill in this form