What Basketball Taught Me About Writing Microfiction

When I first attempted to write a 100-word story, or “drabble,” I had no idea how to compress a story into such a miniscule space. I read a bunch of examples online and tried drumming out my own version. The results were disappointing—closer to a still life than a narrative, a mere snapshot of people and things. Static. Unmoving. Dull.

(The Ecstatic Embrace of Influence.)

Nothing happened.

At the time, I was living in Toronto. Canada’s only NBA team, the Toronto Raptors, were fighting their way through the NBA Finals. As they drew closer to winning the championship, I watched more of their games. I’d never been hugely into sports, but my partner’s enthusiasm drew me in. The more I understood the game, the more I enjoyed the skill and suspense. It was anything but dull.

Surprisingly, watching basketball helped me figure out how to write a drabble.

What Is Microfiction?

Microfiction is exactly what it sounds like: bite-sized fiction. It’s a subcategory of flash fiction. While some outlets consider stories up to 1,500 words to be flash fiction, most say it’s closer 500. Microfiction is usually under 300 words. In some cases, it’s 50. Drabbles are exactly 100 words.

While the exact length of microfiction varies, the point is to capture a complete story in a tight, tiny frame.

The Shot Clock

In a game of basketball, each team controls the ball for a maximum of 24 seconds before someone has to take a shot. Score or not, the ball gets turned over to the other team. Now it’s that team’s turn to have 24 seconds to try to score a goal. If the ball is not released within those 24 seconds, an obnoxious buzzer sounds.

The 24-seconds rule originated in 1954 when Danny Biasone, owner of the Syracuse Nationals, convinced the NBA to implement it. He reasoned that in a typical game, each team averaged 60 shots. Divide the total game time by sixty, and presto! 24-second shot clock.

But no one foresaw how much more exciting the game would actually become. Under the new rule, basketball players took way more shots than before. The number of points scored per game increased by almost 14 points. More fans got caught up in watching the game, with its heightened action and tension.

Let It Breathe

Since my first attempt, I’ve written dozens of drabbles. With each attempt, the space for my story seemed to expand, even though the tiny word count stayed the same. Somehow, each word could breathe. My ideas could breathe.

Instead of my previous tight-chested rush to the end, I felt freedom—an invitation to incorporate dialogue and description. I realized I didn’t have to summarize action. Rather, I felt at ease drawing out events, using pacing to pull my readers along.

Pros and Prose

Anyone who watches basketball has heard commentators grumble about players rushing a play. The best players take their time, even when the shot clock is running down. Why? Because they know they only need a second to release the ball. They know what they can do in a second—and what they can’t. They know their options, what has worked in the past, and when it’s worth taking a risk.

The same applies to writing. The more drabbles I wrote, the more I understood the amount of story—story, not words—I can fit into that space. Which of those hundred words can I devote to setting, characterization, a clever detail, or a bit of snappy dialogue?

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The Takeaway

Like those basketball players scoring more goals under tighter restrictions, placing constraints on our writing will make our work better. When you only have a few lines to work with, every word must earn its place. Every writing choice must be intentional. And every element (character, action, description, pacing, nuance…) must balance with the rest.

The key to writing microfiction is to understand the game. Just like the basketball pros, tight limits can actually give us more opportunities. As we develop a feel for the form, those limits can liberate us to choose the best play.