I read Nate’s post about writing a short story in five sentences (via Robb Knight) and I thought about giving it a try. Here’s my attempt, which doesn’t have a title. It isn’t exactly five sentences either, although I tried to keep it as close to the beats recommended by Nate:
The hastily constructed campfire illuminated Jacob bemused face as he watched Mark rummages through his rucksack with increasing desperation.
“You may have thought that this unscheduled delay here would help you,” Mark snapped. “But just you wait. By morning I would’ve found my map, we’d be out of this forest, and you’ll be back in custody by noon.”
Jacob smiled; and with a calmness that only a serial killer coulds muster, said to Mark, “What good would it do you, a man with your years of experience behind a desk? Without me, you’d have less chance than an ember in snow surviving up here. That map was more useful to me in the end.”
“What are you talking about,” Mark retorted. “Your only contribution to this camp was lighting the fire. How could the map help…”
He froze mid-sentence, realisation striking him of further speech. All he could do is look on at Jacob’s sinister grin as the light of crackling fire began to fade.
And fin. I must admit this took me a while, almost an hour. Much of it was trying to come up with interesting problems and motivations that could last more than a sentence. But hey, it’s something different this evening.