Whether or not you subscribe to the idea that you can write a complete story in 140 characters, there is a challenge to compose a piece of writing that can be loosely termed a “story,” something that has a beginning, a middle and an end.
I see Twitter fiction (twitfic) as capturing a moment, a breath, a held thought, but one that has movement and momentum both forward and backwards.
The power of the story relies on the choice of imagery and sentence structure by the writer to paint the broadest picture with the fewest brush strokes.
It does rely on you, the reader, to fill in the gaps and create the character, using your knowledge and understanding of story to join the dots and create your own meaning to the story.
Here is my latest collection of twitfic.
The coins gratefully absorbed the warmth of her hands. Placed on his eyelids they tried to give back warmth where there was no life.
I.
He stood watching the town’s first set of traffic lights order the comings and goings. After the third set of changes he went on green.
II.
He played every game show, answered every question, took home fabulous prizes but his biggest regret was losing Monopoly to his nephews.
III.
He collects the whispers like butterflies; pinned to mounting board and labelled. When he has sufficient they burn and float as ghosts.
IV.
She replaced every mirror in the house with a funhouse version to imitate the reality she saw. One day someone offered her a hammer.
V.
Fold, crease, fold again as the water lily took form in paper. She dropped it into the gutter’s surge and wished as it sailed away.
Do you have a particular favourite? Which one and why?
A Fullness in Brevity - Adam Byatt 
