MINI SAGAS
May 23rd, 2006
MINI SAGAS
A mini-saga is a story that has exactly 50 words (not 49, and not 51!).
How to write a mini-saga
A mini-saga is a story which has exactly 50 words. Here is one way that you could write a mini-saga.
1. Start by thinking of a story that you have written or would like to write, or think of a well-known story, or something that you have read.
2. Get a written version of the story – write it down, or print it off the Internet.
3. Shorten your story. Take out any words that are not absolutely necessary. How many words are there?
4. Now shorten your story again. How many words are there? At this point you may need to change words or sentences to make exactly 50 words.
An example of writing a mini-sagaStart with the story:
The Cobbler – First Draft (233 words)
Once upon a time there was a man named Roddy Biggs, who was a bank robber. One day he took a pair of shoes to a cobbler to get new soles put on them. The cobbler gave him a ticket, which he put in his pocket. The next day Roddy was arrested by the police for a bank robbery he had committed the week before.
Time passed slowly and 20 years later Roddy was released from gaol. As he was walking away form the prison, he put his hand in his jacket pocket, and found a piece of paper. Pulling it out, he saw the cobbler’s ticket and remembered taking his shoes there all those years ago.
“Why not?” he thought, and went off to see if, just by chance, the cobbler was there and still had his shoes. When he got to the address on the ticket he saw, sandwiched between a supermarket and a multi-storey car park, the cobbler’s shop. He went in and found an ancient man working in the dark little room. He gave him the ticket. The old man examined the ticket closely and then took down a huge ledger from the shelf. Blowing of the dust, he opened it and ran a shaking finger down the columns of names and dates inside. His finger stopped at an entry. Looking up, he said, “They’ll be ready next week!”
Take out words you don’t need:
The Cobbler – Second Draft (100 words)
A man named Roddy Biggs took a pair of shoes to a cobbler. The cobbler gave him a ticket, which he put in his pocket. Next day Roddy was arrested for a bank robbery. He was sent to gaol.
Twenty years later Roddy was released from gaol. He put his hand in his pocket, and found the ticket.
He went to see if the cobbler still had his shoes. When he got to the address he went in and found an ancient man. He gave him the ticket. The old man examined the ticket and said, “They’ll be ready next week!”
Take out words you don’t need, and change some words to leave exactly 50 words:
The Cobbler – Final Draft: the mini-saga (50 words)
A man took his shoes to a cobbler. Next day he was arrested and sent to prison for robbery. Twenty years later he was released, found the cobbler’s ticket and, just in case, took it to the cobbler’s shop. Examining it closely, the old man said, “Come back next week”.
You do not have to follow this method!
Here are some exampes below.
Write a few of your won though the comment boxes.
Four friends went on a journey. After walking they found a place to rest and eat. Each said they would do something. One said “I’ve prepared a meal”. Another said “I’ll start a fire”. The third said “I’ll build a shelter”, while the fourth said “I am ready to eat”.
“I don’t like robots,” I said to my new boss after a cup of coffee. “I hate them, I don’t like working with cold machines.”
“Perhaps you really should try to open your mind.” My boss put down his cup and opened his body, then put two new batteries inside.
One day a man was counting the storeys of a building.
A woman said “Anyone who counts here is punished. How many floors have you counted?”
The man answered “Thirty”.
“30 Yuan please,” the woman said.
The man gave her 30 Yuan and thought “You fool, I counted 50 floors”.
I met a man,
He was the best.
But then he left,
I was depressed.
All I have now
Are memories.
So I can
Think of him at least.
If only I could rule the world!
Then I would never let him go.
But he is gone,
I am alone.
Leave a Reply
See also:
- Any QUESTIONS??? (August 14th, 2007)
- Narrative Modes (February 28th, 2007)
- POETRY IN MOTION (February 22nd, 2007)
- Top 10 mistakes new fiction writers make (November 24th, 2006)
- FIGURAIVE LANGUAGE 1- Figuring It Out (May 23rd, 2006)
May 25th, 2006 at 4:20 am
Hey, I like the Poem! It’s really nice and… sort of fits the purpose, I guess. I previously thought Mini Sagas were meant to be narratives only. I’ve a few questions, though. Are all Mini Sagas narratives and poems or can they be informative texts also?
Please answer my question
(I’m trying to write a mini saga mysef, if it’s counted. DO NOT INCLUDE THE WORDS IN THE BRACKETS!
)
May 25th, 2006 at 7:27 pm
Narratives and poems preferred, although it would be interesting to see what you come up with. (remember , what is the aim and purpose of an information text type?)
Words in (brackets) are included!
May 26th, 2006 at 12:43 am
Wow! I guess writing mini-sagas are fun and challenging as a mere 50 words have to capture the gist of the story!
May 27th, 2006 at 3:01 am
woah, I like the first one about the cobbler, how it was shortened from 233 words to just 50 words, but some facts like the robber was arrested for a robbery he comitted the previous week were changed. and I do not understand why the cobbler said come back next week.
May 27th, 2006 at 9:49 am
The cobbler had not finished his work Kenneth… the cobbler did notThe story is not complete, like Lamb to the Slaughter. Writing a mini saga is not hard, it is writing an INTERESTING mini saga that is difficult:p
I think I’ll try to do one… but my mini saga almost surely is going to be awful, terrible, disastrous and boring… An almost imepending disaster…(exaggerating, of course(I hope?))
May 28th, 2006 at 8:29 pm
Regarding Kenneth’s comment,I also don’t particularly like the final draft of the mini saga about the cobbler…unless it’s purpose is to be a joke…I mean,who would take twenty years and a week to repair a shoe?
The rest of the mini sagas are short and sweet and the poem is also rather nice and meaningful. Is it possible and good to write a mini saga in the form of an opinion?(eg.Gloria’s comment on the mini sagas)
May 29th, 2006 at 7:51 am
So I am still waiting for someone to write a mini saga.
Don’t worry.
When you have the time.
When you have the inclination.
When you have the plot.
When you have the words.
May 29th, 2006 at 10:26 pm
Is it good to write a mini saga in the form of an opinion or comment or a recount?
Please answer my question.
May 29th, 2006 at 10:54 pm
Well Desiree, a mini saga by strict definiton has to be a narrative. It has to tell a story.
So a recount or a narrative poem can be considered.
But then, remember the golden rule! :}
May 30th, 2006 at 6:30 am
Are there people actually writing mini sagas not in the form of a narrative/poem?
Are they accepted as mini sagas, then?
May 30th, 2006 at 6:57 am
By and large, people keep within the rules! :}
Maybe one has to learn to keep within the rules before breaking them!
May 31st, 2006 at 3:45 am
i could try and write 1 , but , looks kinda difficult .
[kim] yahhs its not hard , its DIFFICULT . see the difference ?
[desiree] yup, the story of the cobbler is kinda nonsensical , but funny !
[gloria] its possible to write mini sagas as the form of poems rite ?
[mr grosse] huh ? what you mean by keep within the rules ? as in , if we want to write 1 we first have to learn how to write one in the narrative form before progressing on to doing poems , so its like , don’t be too ambitious yet ?
i don’t think [i am a promise] can be a mini saga rite ?
May 31st, 2006 at 5:13 am
In reply to Cass, I don’t think ‘I am a promise” is a mini saga because it’s supposed to tell a story…And in response to your other question, I think what Mr Grosse means is that people usually obey and follow the rules.
Anyway I’ve a question…how does keeping within the rules “help” you to break them?(regarding Mr Grosse’s comment)
June 4th, 2006 at 1:39 am
Let me get this straight… A mini saga can be a poem as well as a narrative?:D thanks.. kinda confused.
June 4th, 2006 at 1:41 am
… continuing the last statement, but nothing else?sorry.
June 27th, 2006 at 3:23 am
In reply to Cass, I agree with Desiree that “I am a promise” is not a mini saga. However, I wonder if songs that tell stories (narrative) are considered as mini sagas? Please answer my questions
July 5th, 2006 at 5:29 am
Wow! I didn’t know that writing could be so fun with so many varieties! The short stories and the poem is nice. Well, some of them are quite funny too. In reply to Zi Bing, if the song’s lyrics has exactly 50 words and it does tell a story, so long as it is written out in a pharagraph form, it should be considered a mini saga. But if the story is in the format of the song, I don’t think it can be considered a mini saga. Am I right?
October 13th, 2006 at 10:11 pm
Quote:
I met a man,
He was the best.
But then he left,
I was depressed.
All I have now
Are memories.
So I can
Think of him at least.
If only I could rule the world!
Then I would never let him go.
But he is gone,
I am alone.
I think that if you fit a melody to these lyrics, it will still be a mini saga. After all, what could possibly change after you fit a melody into a mini saga poem? absolutely nothing. The words are the same.therefore, I suggest that a mini saga can be a song(as songs are basically poems with a melody)
October 14th, 2006 at 12:35 am
hey i’ve got a tune for the poem!!
lol
I met a man,
1 3 5 8
He was the best.
8 6 5 4
But then he left,
6 5 4 3
I was depressed.
5 4 3 2
All I have now
7*1 1 35 8
Are memories.
5 6 4 5
So I can
5 4 34
Think of him at least.
3 2 1 7* 1
If only I could rule the world!
8 8 8 8 7b 6 5 6
Then I would never let him go.
78 8 7b 6 5 6 7 8
But he is gone,
8 1 3 5
I am alone.
3 43 11
*lower 7
1 stands for Do, 2 for Re etc.
Strangely, the sont sounds a little too happy… lol
According to Kim, it would still be a mini saga lol.
October 15th, 2006 at 10:21 pm
I got a tune for the poem too! Play it with canon-in-d! so it will be like….
I met a man
C G C E
He was the best
G D G B
But then he left
A E A C
I was depressed
E B E G
All I have now
F C F A
Are me-mo-ries
C G C E
So I can
F C F A
Think of him at least
G D G B (chord 5)
If only I could
C EF E D
Rule the world
ED AE G
Then I would never let him go
F G A B A G
But he is gone
FG A GA B
I am alone.
C D E C
lol…I changed the last part of canon-in-d;.. this song sounds sad enough..am I right?
And this is a mini-saga! Well…perhaps I should invent songs that have exactly 50 words..and I will call it a mini song!
October 19th, 2006 at 7:03 am
C A G Bb(B flat)
I met a man
C F E F
He was the best
C A G Bb
But then he left
C F E F
I was depressed
A Bb C D C G
All I have now
G C Bb A
Are memories
F G A Bb
So I can
A F G E F
Think of him at least
C C F F, C D D C
If only I could rule the world
C A C D Bb D Bb C
Then I would never let him go
F C Bb A
But he is gone,
F G G F
And I’m alone
Weird, right? lol. Somehow it doesn’t really seem nice. Ah well, as ZB calls it, another ‘mini song’
December 19th, 2006 at 8:58 am
This is abit irrevlant but anyway, here’s a short story that’s titled ‘Out of the Fog’, 56 words (if only the author had cut it by 6 words!). I can’t find the author. though.
–
Lyn clutched her puse as footsteps approached along the fog shrouded lane. Emily, a fellow prostitute emerged.
“Any business?” asked Lyn
Emily shrugged. “Some. And you?”
“Not yet, tonight.”
“ ‘Tis slow because of the Ripper.” Emily sighed. “Seems everyone’s afraid of Jack.”
“Actually, the full name’s ‘Jacquelyn’,” Lyn said, pulling the knife from her purse.
–
From The World’s Shortest Stories
ed. Steve Moss
Just an observation–almost all short stories/mini-sagas I’ve read tend to be funny! I suppose jokes don’t require that much emotional scenes and such compared to, say, a thriller mini-saga?