Happy Halloween everyone! This is definitely going to be an odd Halloween this year with less Halloween parties, trick or treaters, and other spooky shenanigans’ than ever before. Plus, I get more candy for myself.
Anyways, I wanted to provide you all with a fun Halloween challenge that you could post to social media or exchange with friends and family (if they are into spooky stories).
This was a trend a few years ago, but there is still a page on Reddit dedicated to these simple, two sentence horrors. Be warned, they are scary; so, if it doesn’t interest you, stay clear.
However, it’s a great challenge to tell a condensed story that helps us practice using the building blocks of good stories. Here is an example I found from last year by AtomFarmer:
“I finally found my wife the kidney she needed. It took forever to track down everyone she’d donated organs to after the crash.”
The story told us a lot about the character going on the journey, why they were doing it (at least partially), and the twist of it coming from the perspective of a potential killer. The story also leaves a ton of questions that could be used as a jump off point when developer a longer story.
If you don’t want to do a scary story, that’s fine. I would suggest to try telling any story in two-sentences for this challenge. Here is one of my horror attempts:
“I meet my daughter for the first time. I just wish she were alive for it.”
Spooky? Disturbing? Sad? Yes, to all three, but it says a lot about the character. The character could’ve been an absent parent, arriving to a funeral. It could’ve been a parent that never knew they had a child, then saw them for the first time as a ghost. It could’ve been something else altogether. The possibilities are endless when creating short two-sentence stories.
What does it say about tension? It builds this potentially happy moment and then absolutely flips it on its head. I think twists, especially with short horror stories, can be far more compelling for a reader.
I would like everyone to give it a try and see what you come up with. This challenge is about being economical about creativity. Great stories don’t have to be 60,000+ words long. There is no size requirement for enjoying a story or telling one.
So, what are your thoughts on two sentence stories? Do you like them or are they not your cup of tea?
Let me know in the comments and feel free to put a few of your own there as well.
Until next time, write, read, Happy Halloween!
-J.J.
