(ssf) real

The assignment for my most recent short short fiction class took the instructor like ten minutes to explain. I do like having assignments. I like assignments about either the form (i.e., a story that's a list) or the content (i.e., a story that's a prohibition). But assigning both form and content starts to get a bit overconstraining. The "form" part of this assignment was that it was supposed to done mainly as "narrative exposition," although it could be first person narrative. The "content" part was that the story was supposed to begin with two people approaching a store and then they are supposed to go inside the store for some purpose that is either achieved or not. Anyway, my story is called "Real" and is available as pdf here. Let me know if you have any comments or non-cruel suggestions.

I think the class is suffering short short fiction fatigue. Only four (of seven) showed up, and only two of us had stories, although another student promised to e-mail us hers. The assignment for next week is the last, and it took the instructor a full half-hour to explain, although in the end seemed both interesting and simple enough. Which does not necessarily mean I'll have time to do it.