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"Writing is 1 percent inspiration and 99 percent elimination," Louise Brooks once said. Probably no phrase could describe Peter Chiykowski's work better. This Canadian author writes short stories that fit on a postcard, and he's nailing them, too. He said that his creative writing style is hard to pin down and he switches and mashes up genres and tones, but that's part of what makes his interesting stories so unique. You never know what the next sentence is gonna be.
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Chiykowski has been pursuing his dream of making a living off his creative ideas for the past three years. "I've cobbled together a full-time career writing inspiring stories, drawing webcomics, appearing at conventions, developing for the tabletop RPG EMBERWIND, and running Kickstarters, like one I have going right now for my short stories and deck of story prompts," he told Bored Panda.
"I have a weird background as a freelance writer and illustrator in a bunch of random genres. I've worked on everything from video games to pinball machines to literary poetry to Korean comic translations. It's a weird life, but I love it. I think that's why my motivational stories take on so many genres and styles."
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"I've always been a big reader of just about every genre," Chiykowski said. "I started off writing poems and short stories for Canadian literary journals in 2009ish, which was around the time my webcomic Rock Paper Cynic started taking off. I had more and more work to do on the webcomic and less and less time for short stories, which sometimes took weeks to finish. Over time, I stopped writing stories altogether."
As it turned out, microfiction was probably the only way he'd ever get writing inspiration again. "The longer I went without writing, the more I'd have these weird little nugget-ideas for short story premises. I'd jot them down and daydream about what I'd write "when I find the time. It took a few years for me to realize I'd never find the time, so I decided to make the time. I started off trying to write down these ultra-short stories, and because I was so used to visual storytelling from my webcomic, I experimented with different graphic formats."
The one that really stuck with him was the 'postcard story' that became the basis for his project, Shortest Story. "I loved the idea that these felt like postcards sent from parallel realities, alternate selves and impossible worlds that feel familiar even while being full of fantasy or horror or science fiction. I loved that every narrator could be you."
"It helped that inspiration was out there. A Small Fiction by James Miller is an incredible example of the power of microfiction, and the photo-comic A Softer World by Joey Comeau and Emily Horne has always been a favorite of mine."
"The best time to start your creative project was yesterday. The next best time is today," the author added. "It's a cliche, but it's a damn good one. If you have a creative project you've been wanting to pursue, give yourself permission to try and to fail. Start now. Go ahead and make a joyous mess of it. The worst that can happen is that you do a horrible job and no one but you ever knows about it. But even that will let you learn something so you can start again on stronger footing tomorrow. There's a version of you one year in the future who is looking back through time at you at this exact moment, and they're wishing they could tell you to just go for it. I'd listen to them. They're from the future, so they know what's up!"
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KT Trondsen 6 years ago
Aww so sad. Trust your mom and tell her, she loves you more than anyone else in this world <3
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SacredPistachio 6 years ago
if you cant beat em, burn them for the rest of time for a useful cause :P
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Kiss Army 6 years ago
My husband and I have literally have more books than some small libraries. The last time we moved, every time one of our friends passed carrying another box of books, they yelled "LIBRARY CARD!" We have gotten e-readers but we still have not given up our precious collection.
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Ryo Bakura 6 years ago (edited)
Our successes and failures make us who we are. And global events, bad or good, have given us the lives we have now. There's plenty of people who wish they did something, or didn't do something, they feel they should have done, but they wouldn't be the same people they are now, or here at all, had they acted.
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Donna Faye 6 years ago
As a veteran, the things you've witnessed or seen cannot be unseen. There's good and bad to being a veteran. Some things you miss about war and some things you don't. I interpret this story as a way of saying that after war, you're changed and just want to live and cannot be at peace until you die.
#41
Cassidy ChillRose 4 years ago (edited)
The cat agrees, curiosity is worth dying for. But from what I've heard it's only worth doing once, because they still have their other eight lives.
#81
Lina Maverick 6 years ago
I don't have a dog... anymore. Anyone here to call back the onion ninjas?
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Person2638 6 years ago
I have seen this one on the internet many times in the last few years. Did the original story come from here...?
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Savannah Mcquillan 5 years ago
Can confirm that a year ago when I read this wasn't thinking now it's true 😂🤣
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What do you think ?
D. Pitbull 6 years ago
Used to seeing the Author/artist at the local conventions - bought so much of his stuff (They make THE BEST dice towers, btw) - HMS Bad Idea is AWESOME and I'm so glad to see more of his work! Thanks, Peter - come back to Van Fan Expo!!! We miss you!!!!
Linda Matheny 6 years ago
You need to write a book of these short stories. I would buy it in a minute!!!! Brilliant!
wyatt richards 4 years ago
it says that there scary, there really not most of them don't make sense and are just stupid they just seem like someone just through something together in like ten minutes i'm surprised it could get more then 50 up votes
Pretty Pangolin 6 years ago
I just finished writing my first fiction in 25+ years - it's good enough that I felt comfortable submitting it to Creepypasta. Even if they don't pick it up, I'm just so surprised and happy that it exists at all.
Lillian mooney 6 years ago
I feel like these have a much more deeper and darker meaning than what's exposed here.
why oh why 6 years ago
astonishing, wise and whimsical. thanks for this you f**k! cause you are a f****r for sure in the way ya write bro' love it
Imajin_A_Shön 6 years ago
Agreed, that's why they're great as postcards. Send one a week, month, or year and they don't seem as commonplace. Most of them gave me a good chuckle.
Load More Replies...
Imajin_A_Shön 6 years ago
The only infantile moron I see here at the moment is you making that comment. o.O
Load More Replies... D. Pitbull 6 years ago
Used to seeing the Author/artist at the local conventions - bought so much of his stuff (They make THE BEST dice towers, btw) - HMS Bad Idea is AWESOME and I'm so glad to see more of his work! Thanks, Peter - come back to Van Fan Expo!!! We miss you!!!!
Linda Matheny 6 years ago
You need to write a book of these short stories. I would buy it in a minute!!!! Brilliant!
wyatt richards 4 years ago
it says that there scary, there really not most of them don't make sense and are just stupid they just seem like someone just through something together in like ten minutes i'm surprised it could get more then 50 up votes
Pretty Pangolin 6 years ago
I just finished writing my first fiction in 25+ years - it's good enough that I felt comfortable submitting it to Creepypasta. Even if they don't pick it up, I'm just so surprised and happy that it exists at all.
Lillian mooney 6 years ago
I feel like these have a much more deeper and darker meaning than what's exposed here.
why oh why 6 years ago
astonishing, wise and whimsical. thanks for this you f**k! cause you are a f****r for sure in the way ya write bro' love it
Imajin_A_Shön 6 years ago
Agreed, that's why they're great as postcards. Send one a week, month, or year and they don't seem as commonplace. Most of them gave me a good chuckle.
Load More Replies... Imajin_A_Shön 6 years ago
The only infantile moron I see here at the moment is you making that comment. o.O
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