3 Legged stool

Here's the new form of Writers Wings, at last.

Try this exercise. Feel free to ask questions, request topics, leave love notes ;-)

THREE-LEGGED STOOL

    This brainstorming exercise helps with being concise. It also teaches about the organization of stories, in their simplest form.

   Three-legged stools are stories that are three sentences long. Each sentence is made up of three words. (If you want a further challenge, try having all the words three letters long. I’ll give examples of those too.)  Sentence fragments are allowed, but don’t continue a sentence from one line to the next.

    Try writing several of these in a set time, like fifteen minutes.

Here are some examples:

3-letter words               simple                             more complex

The bug sat.                  Girls like boys.               Butterflies float, transcendent.

It’s big too.                   They often date.             Wicked nets hover.

Boo, bug, boo.              Then they marry.            Pins hold motionless.

 Ask for tea.                   Cat ate Dog.                  Squirrels arpeggio fences.

Buy one cup.                  She was canine.              Bushy tails shake.

Sip and yak.                   He, the feline.                They hate barking.

Joe has wit.                    Man, I dunno.                Headwear expresses quirks. 
He’s too dry.                 You can try.                   These are mine.

But all fun.                      She won’t go.                 I adore sparkles.

Win his aid.                    Housework is hard.         Day dawns, shimmering.

Get her job.                   Hire a maid.                    Blue jays shriek.

Now, act sad.                Then, go broke.               Bring the millet.

The first sentence sets up a situation or states a premise. The second sentence creates a conflict or tension—sets the situation into motion or gives it meaning. The third sentence resolves the tension or shows an outcome.

Ariele M. Huff