Going Monosyllabic

Can you write a 100-word story using words with only one syllable? This was our challenge some months ago at Writers Connect.

This isn’t necessarily a timed exercise- just keep it incredibly concise. I went way over the word mark, but I kept the story monosyllabic. Many people didn’t manage that.

It also helps if you have a starting point- maybe a theme or first word to begin the story with. We didn’t though, so I had to use literally what was in front of me. Hence how ridiculous it gets.

I ate the chip off the plate. It was good. I left the peas, though.

“What’s in the pot of sauce?” asked John.

“Don’t know,” I said. “Some kind of crème.”

The word “crème” was a code word for the Dark Prince. He soared up from the ground, roared, and smashed the plate. His mouth, a cave of sharp knives, foamed and steamed. “Who stole my chip?” he asked, loud and firm.

The group’s eyes moved to me. I burped.

The beast of a man gripped me by the throat. “That was MY chip,” he roared, eyes red and raw. “What will you do to please me now?” he said.

I saw my days in hell with no end. In fear, I puked up on the plate, warm and moist.

The Dark Prince scraped up the mush and ate it whole and warm.

“Thanks,” he said. “And… don’t use that word please.”

“What word?”

“Crème,” he said, and the ghouls poured from his lair.

“Aw, no!”

They clawed him deep back in the Earth.

So. Quite clunky and ridiculous (Why would the devil have a problem being taken to hell? Isn’t that where he’d be at home?), but I managed it. You’d be surprised how many people accidentally slipped in a few multi-syllabic words. Also, I took the word count to 174. Guessing how many words I’ve written is impossible for me- I need the word processor to guide me on that. Start with a theme and stick to a time rather than word count, and a monosyllabic challenge could be a really inventive exercise.