21 Famous Authors Write 140-Character Novels

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We’ve all been lectured about the simplistic perfection of Ernest Hemingway’s six-word short story (“For sale: baby shoes, never worn.”), but would it be possible to write a bite-sized novel the same way? This week, The Guardian asked 21 authors to try their hands at “Twitter fiction” — an entire “novel” in 140 characters. The results are mixed, though there are some great stories in the bunch — Geoff Dyer writes, “I know I said that if I lived to 100 I’d not regret what happened last night. But I woke up this morning and a century had passed. Sorry.” And Helen Fielding’s tale is exactly what we’d expect from her: “OK. Should not have logged on to your email but suggest if going on marriedaffair.com don’t use our children’s names as password.” What do you think, dear readers? Is this a form worth exploring? Let us know your feelings (or your own 140-character tales) in the comments, and be sure to head over to The Guardian to take in the entire list.