More and more people are interested in fan fiction - literary works created by fans based on popular films, books or series. Most often, the basis of fan fiction is either the development of the original storyline in a different direction, or the creation of a branch of history in a completely different direction, but with the involvement of characters from the work.
One type of fan fiction is Drabble. This genre is becoming increasingly popular. But what is drabble, how and when did it arise, and not everyone knows about the features of such works.
What is Drabble: concept and features of the genre
A short sketch depicting a single scene or describing a character is what drabble means. Also often small genres that consist of only 100 words are attributed to the genre. The peculiarity of such stories is an unexpected ending or the presence of hidden subtext.
The main criterion for a drabble is its completeness. Such a story, despite its laconicism, should contain the structure of a full-fledged work, have a plot, climax and denouement. It should be meaningful and useful. In addition, drabble is written in an artistic or journalistic style. This is not an instruction for use, and therefore it should contain literary revolutions and “catch” the reader.
History of the genre
The history of Drabble is quite interesting. It is believed that the concept of the genre was born in 1980, when one of the communities at the University of Birmingham created an unusual game. Inspired by Monty Python’s novel Drabble, science fiction fans decided to play a game based on the plot of the work in which the participants had to write a short story and the winner was the one who made it faster.
To make the game simple and interesting in real life, the participants introduced the rule that the story should consist of 100 words. A certain amount of time was given to write the novel, a topic was asked. Hence the concept of 100 words and the name drabble.
Creation criteria
It’s not enough to know what a drabble is to create it. You also need to understand what criteria a story must meet in order for it to be so named. A great example of Drabble is 55 Fiction. These are 55-word stories. The author of the idea was Steve Moss, the founder of New Times magazine. The main requirements are as follows:
- size - exactly 55 words;
- the presence of a message and plot;
- the presence of at least one character;
- the presence of conflict and its resolution.
Initially, such stories were published only in the Steve Moss magazine, but soon became a popular format for expressing thoughts. That’s why fans quickly adapted 55 Fiction to create interesting fan fiction.