June 11, 2010
One night, Desdemona invented a new literary form. The days of the novel were through; their tens of thousands of words were too long for fleeting attention spans. Short stories, though a fraction of the length of novels, were also passe. Flash fiction, even at 500 to 1,000 words, had become a boring slog. Drabble fiction, too, was a mountain to climb; who could invest the time to read 100 words these days? Even nanofiction of less than 50 words seemed oh so grueling.
But Desdemona was the first to bring Nil Fiction to life. This new form of literary expression entailed a complete absence of words. The negative space thus created implied vast meanings by its very nonexistence, by its lack of even a title.
Desdemona’s first work went like this:________________________________. The End.
She performed it for a group of non-literate types on the front steps of the local library, and they flipped. Soon, writers across the country were jumping on the bandwagon, composing great nonexistent masterpieces that focused on their deepest feelings and artistic expressions. The longer they stood and stared intently without saying anything, the better they were rated by the critics. Soon, their works were optioned by Hollywood, and movies consisting of a blank screen for two hours did blockbuster business.
It was all about the negative space, telling a story without saying anything at all. And somehow, it worked. Nil fiction was the ultimate evolution of storytelling, the perfect synthesis of human creative power and interaction. Readers and listeners could fill the void with their own stories that reflected their own experience and concerns.
But the success of Nil fiction wasn’t enough for Desdemona. As we all know, she went on to create a literary form that was even more compact and popular than the Nil. A form that has exploded around the world. This form involves individuals living out stories of their own existences, complete with strange characters, vivid settings, and unpredictable plot twists. These stories can last for years, even for decades. Reportedly, they’re more three-dimensional and satisfying than novels or stories or flash fiction or drabbles. They’re more believable and memorable than other literary forms.
Desdemona calls them daily lives.
