本帖最后由 monicwe 于 2013-2-19 10:31 编辑
        其实我不知道这种小说题材大家以前有没有听说，或者接触过，不过今天在网上闲逛的时候偶然看见了。觉得可以拿来介绍一下。也就当开拓视野，多了解一些东西吧。
       （不知该发在哪里，如果分类有错误，还请版主大人拨冗移动，非常感谢）
        Hint Fiction
        “Hint”字面上的意思是“暗示、线索”，直译似乎就是“线索小说”或者“暗示小说”，有点难以理解。那么，我们就来看看一个比较详细，不那么抽象的解释——
        “In my writing class our latest assignment was to write a 25 worded story about whatever you wanted. We needed to add emotion and organization in order to make it exactly 25 words. So we all had to change and edit our stories multiple times to use good word choice and make sure it made sense with only some words. It is called hint fiction because it is suppose to hint at something to make the reader infer and think about what the reader is trying to say. It also has to have a beginning, middle, and end weather the reader infers it or it is written in the story.”
           这就是我当初无意中看到的，那张国外学生写的帖子原文。翻译过来的意思就是：
          “在我的写作课上，最近一次的作是用任意的25个单词写一个故事。我们需要加入情感并组织语言，以使文章保证只有25个字的长度。所以，我们都不得不无数遍地修改和编辑以确保词语选用正确，并且用了最恰当的词语使得文章看上去合理。这种就叫做hint fiction。因为它使用暗示的手段让读者去思考和推断作者究竟是想去表达什么。当然，不管读者是否能够推论，或者作者是否写出，这种小说也必须有开头、中间描述以及结尾。”
         听上去很好玩儿是不？只用最多25个英文单词，写出一个有开头有中间有结尾的小说。
         下面就是这个学生自己写的作业，题目是《Overcome》（治愈）
         “This cruel disease will be cured for everyone one day . But you stayed srtong through all of it. You had faith and you overcome cancer."
          然后我还找了很多其他很优秀的例子，如下：
         1、The boys waited below the tower block for the paper planes. They fought over them, to be the one to carry them back to her 
                男孩子们在塔楼下等待纸飞机飞出来，然后他们会互相撕打，以决定到底谁最终能把这些纸飞机带回去送给她。
        2、Through Tiny Windows
When they opend the cadaver,they found a house.A couple argued inside. There was rhythm to their words, like the beating of a heart. 当他们将尸体打开，他们发现了一座房子。一对夫妻在里面吵架，他们的词语说的十分有节奏，就好像心脏的跳动。
3. Cull
There had been rumors from the North for months. None of us believed it，until one right we started to kill our children too.从北方传来的流言已经流传几个月了。我们中没有任何人相信，直到有一个被证明是真实的，于是我们也开始残杀自己的孩童。
4. Better Than Divorce
The bull terrier watched the car fishtail and then straighten as it sped away. The dog turned,looked down,and gently licked  his master's forehead. 牛头犬看着汽车摇晃着羊肠而去，然后转身向下望着，轻轻地舔着自己主人的额头。
——————————我深深地深深地为自己的翻译水平着急，所以下面的我不翻译，若有帮忙翻译的，请贴下面，好的我就发糖发糖啊！！手工发！（楼主捂脸）——————
1) One Month Too Soon
Penelope was wakened by the cheers from the agora. She turned to the man in her bed and whispered, "What have I done?"
2) Blind Date
She walks in and heads turn. I'm stunned. This is my setup? She looks sixteen. Course, it's hard to tell, through the scope.
3) Dickie
Everyone in town went to the same gynecologist, Dickie. Even Dickie's sister went to Dickie. No one thought this was strange except for the out-of-towners.
4) Ransom
Broke and desperate, I kidnapped myself.
Ransom notes were sent to interested parties. Later, I sent hair and fingernails, too.
They insisted on an ear.
5) Or Even Longer
Together they throw the dirt, listen to its plunk against wood, a sound so unlike anything else in the world, one you could remember forever. 
          欧美还有一本关于这个Hint Fiction 的书籍。内容看不到，不过有篇针对它的评论非常有意思，应当就是书评吧。网站地址在这里
懒得戳开的人可以看这里[fold=Hint 　　Fiction:BrevityistheSoulofWhat?]1.HintFictionisananthologyofvery,veryshortstories,editedbyRobertSwartwood.Themaximumlengthhasbeensetattwenty-fivewords.Swartwoodwasinspired,hewritesintheintroduction,bythefamousandprobablyapocryphalsix-wordHemingwaystory:“Forsale:babyshoes,neverworn.”Swartwoodeventuallycameupwith“thethesisthatastoryoftwenty-fivewordsorfewercanhaveasmuchimpactasastoryoftwentyfivehundredwordsorlonger.”Thepremiseraisessomeinterestingquestions.Howshortcanastorybeandstillbeacompletestory,asopposedto,say,afragmentofsomethingthatprobablyshouldhavebeenlonger?Where’sthelinebetweensuggestionandexecution?It’sdifficulttosay,andIdoubtthatit’sinanyone’sbestinteresttoestablishhard-and-fastrulesaboutthissortofthing.Buttheline’sveryfineindeed,andHintFictionwalksit.Moststoriesinthebookcomeintwopieces:there’sthestoryitself,alltwenty-fiveoreighteenorsevenwordsofit,andthenthere’sthetitle,whichusuallyprovidesaclueoratleastsomesortofcontext.It’saninterestingconcept,butanissueimmediatelyarises:thesearehintsofstories,meresuggestions,andtheproblemwithhintsisthatthey’rebynatureimprecise.Let’sconsidertheentiretyofStephenDunn’sMidnightintheEverglades:“Youdumbfuck.Youpathetic,dumbfuck.”That’sit.Okay,Ithought,Icandothis.There’sdefinitelyastoryhere,betweenthetitleandthesevenwordsoftext.Icanimaginethescene:It’smidnightintheEverglades.Anin-way-over-his-headprotagonist,let’scallhimBill,isstandingontheboat.Therearegangsters.OneofthegangstersisholdingaguntoBill’shead.Thereisanominousswishingofalligatorsinthewateraroundthem,andtheairisthickwithhumidity.Wehearfrogs.“Youdumbfuck,”thegangstersayssoftly.ProbablyBilltriedtocheathimorsomethingbutwasn’tsmartenoughtopullitoff.ProbablyBillstilllivesinhisparents’basement.“Youpathetic,dumbfuck.”Unless,ofcourse,it’smidnightintheAlligatorSuiteattheEvergladesMotelonRoute67.Susie’sboyfriendhasannouncedthathe’sgoingbacktohiswife.Helooksparticularlystupidinthelamplight,andalsoit’sjustdawnedonherthatsinceshe’stheonewiththejobshe’sgoingtobestuckwiththemotelbill.“Youdumbfuck,”shesays,exasperated.“Youpathetic,dumbfuck.”Orit’smidnightintheEverglades,andTanyaandBobarelost.It’s1930,soneitherofthemhasacellphone.They’reinarowboat.Bobdroppedthesandwichesoverboardsixhoursago,andTanyahaslowbloodsugarsoshe’salittlelessforgivingthannormalwhenBobaccidentallydropstheironlyoarintothedarkwaterstoo.Theylistentothealligatorscrunchingtheoarintotoothpicks.“Youdumbfuck,”Tanyamurmursunderherbreath.Shedoesn’tusuallyusethiskindoflanguage,butshe’sreallygettingkindoflightheadedbythispoint.“Youpathetic,dumbfuck.”Whichisthestory?Allofthese,ornoneofthem.2.Theimprecisionoftheformisdazzling,butthat’spartlythepoint.Inhisintroduction,Swartwoodwritesabouthistheorythat“theverybeststorytelling[is]thekindwherethewriterandreadermeethalfway,thewriteronlypaintingfiftypercentofthepictureandforcingthereadertofillintherest.”Butveryshortstories,henotes,“donotmeetthewriterhalfway.Infact,theyrarelymeetthereaderatenthoftheway.Areaderwouldbeluckyifheorsheweretogetonepercentofthestory.Andthat’swhyIcalleditHintFiction—becausethereaderisonlygivenahintofamuchlarger,morecomplexstory.”Ifoundthisabitpuzzling,becausethatequationsuggeststhatthestoriesinSwartwood’scollectionaren’twhatheconsiderstobetheverybeststorytelling,butlet’smoveondirectlytooneoftheblurbs:“Someofthesestoriessuggestentirenovelsinjustafewwords,”writesRobertShapard,editorofSuddenFictionandFlashFiction.“So,inthissmallbook,youhaveawholelibrary.It’sreadingatthespeedoflight.”Ireadthatblurboverafewtimes.Iwroteandthendeletedseveralpassionateandprobablyuncalledforparagraphs.IntheendIdecideditwouldprobablybebesttojustignoretheobviousproblemswithcomparingananthologyof25-wordstoriestoanentirelibrary,orcomparinga25-wordstorytoanovel—youknow,thosethingsthatweighinatseveralhundredpagesandtakemonthsifnotyearsofblood,sweat,tears,anddayjobstowrite—andfocusonthematterathand.WhetherornotyouenjoyHintFictionwilldependmostly,Ithink,onyourwillingnessfordoingtheheavyliftingwhenpresentedwithacryptictwenty-fivewordsorlessplusatitle,andonyourfondnessforpiecingtogetherclues.ThewriterStewartNancalledthesestories“funandaddictive,likepuzzlesorhaikuorcandy.”Therearejewelsinthecollection,ahandfulofstoriesthatareutterlyperfectintheirbrevity.JoyceCarolOates’TheWidow’sFirstYearisdevastating;JasonRice’sPhilipisawonderfullysharplittlepieceofwork;DonoraHillard’sDepartureismysteriousandlovelyandsomehowevocativeofthedreamlikeworkofShaunTan.Agreatmanyofthestoriesinthisbookareinteresting.Someofthemaregood,andafewareremarkable.Butfartoomanyofthestoriesinthisbookarenot.Toomanyaremerelycreepyinacheapway,becausecreepyiseasilyconveyedintwenty-fivewordsorless,andinthefinalanalysisIfoundHintFictiontobeastrangelyunevencollection.Thehighsareveryhigh,andthelowsaredepressinglyflat.3.I’vealwaysadmiredthelikely-not-written-by-Hemingwaystoryaboutthebabyshoes,itsstrangesadpower,thewayitcomesoutofnowherelikeablastofcoldair.“There’sareason,”Swartwoodwrites,“whyHemingway’sstoryhassurvivedsolongandbecomesopopular.Itseemsvery,very,veryshortstoriesspeaktosomethingdeepinsidereaders.”Irespectfullydisagree.Ithinkit’smorethatvery,very,verygoodstoriesspeaktosomethingdeepinsidereaders.We’reconstantlytoldthatourattentionspansareever-shortening,thatwe’reincreasinglyincapableofappreciatinglength.ButasmyMillionscolleagueGarthRiskHallbergrecentlypointedout,bignovelsareaspopularasthey’veeverbeen;RobertoBolano’s900-page-plus2666,forinstance,hasbeensomewhatofaphenomenon.Whatmattersinfictionisquality,notlength.[/fold]