Hammers

Cities of Sawdust (100 Word Story)

Photo by Anne Nygård on Unsplash

The King’s sigil is a hammer, so stout it looks bloated, more cask of ale than carpenter’s tool.

Attached to the hammer is a tether, a tether unmistakably a noose.

I stared at that sigil, drew it with my finger in sawdust at my father’s feet.

They thought I wished to be King, a king in the likeness of him.

I simply wished to have that hammer, so fat it could never miss a nail, to make my father proud, to build us a home in a land where Kings didn’t hang people, or there were no Kings at all.

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My first month at Substack I published a few 100 word stories, and have thrown a few in over the years. They are a good tool for a writer to find the heart of the story and to learn to ditch unnecessary words.

Some people call them drabbles but that moniker seems to indicate humor. When I started my publishing streaks here (one of around 500 waylaid by COVID, the second 1226 ended by personal choice) I set 100 words as the minimum length story I would allow myself to publish. 50 word stories had caught on on Medium and made their way to Substack, and while I think they’re a fun challenge it’s nearly impossible to tell a compelling story that short, Hemingway’s famous 6 word story notwithstanding.

If you like reading the very short form or think you might want to try it yourself, I have a book of 365 of them. The collection was edited by Substacker Dascha Paylor 🇨🇦🍁🐻‍❄ , who was among the first to encourage me to write 100’s and really made the book happen.

You can order Humans Being by clicking HERE.

Thanks for reading!