At a recent course on Advanced Writing for the Web, I was challenged to write a short story featuring only single-syllable words. I had about ten minutes to compose a story starting with a given sentence: I chose Lorna and I made a plan to meet at the station, under the clock.... The single-syllable rule wasn't strict - station clearly has two, but an alternative like the place where trains meet is unnecessarily complicated and unclear. My story is below:
Lorna and I made a plan to meet at the station, under the clock, like in a old film. But it did not feel like a film. There was too much noise and when Lorna came in, the crowds did not part to let her through.
I could see her in her bright red coat but she did not see me. I called out her name but she missed it.
“Lorna!”
But she walked right past. I tried to fight through the rush-hour crowd but she kept walking, past the other clock by the front door, and out of the station. I was left with a limp rose and a box of chocs in my hands.
I'll arrange to meet after lunch next time. It might be more easy that way. If only my mobile phone hadn't died.
A few failures: walking, other and mobile. A little more time would have edited them away.
It was a curious challenge to do, with a fairly artificial restriction in place. A simple story like this would probably have more contractions ("didn't" rather than "did not"), but I think that these longer forms help slow the story down. As stories go, it's simple and transitory. But I like it.