Avenir Eclectia: Adventures in Microfiction
by Grace Bridges

The world of microfiction

Imagine a world where writers can hang out and play, using existing characters or creating their own. Imagine how good it feels to finish a complete story in five minutes flat. Imagine a place where there is something for every kind of speculative writer: science fiction, fantasy, and supernatural.

That place is Avenir Eclectia.

Avenir Eclectia is the name of a colony in the constellation Cetus: Avenir, a generational spaceship turned orbital habitat, circling Eclectia, a barely-habitable planet subject to violent seismic forces. On the station are the dubiously rich, those who can afford to be away from danger, and the scientists who work to make new toys for them—called wizards by the population of beggar orphans because of the strange forces they use and their belief in the sea. On the planet are miners and hunters, and undersea there are cities of the middle class, built underwater for the greatest safety. The sea life includes sentient, telepathic beings some call angels.

That’s the story world in its briefest description.

The unusual part is how writers are going to go about creating the story: as a mosaic of ultra-short pieces. Vignettes, not requiring beginnings or endings. Just snapshots of a few moments in somebody’s life. The ideal length is 150 to 400 words. Check out the ones we have on our site already.

I can’t take credit for the idea—it was Kristine Pratt of Written World Communications who told me of her plan to publish a book with 100 one-page devotionals from different authors. I got to thinking we could do something similar with fiction, and Avenir Eclectia was born.

This world is open to any writer who wants to try his or her hand at it. Submissions will be screened and edited as necessary, and we will ask each to remain within the established parameters—don’t get too wild on us—but we would love to have a large group of contributors.

Add your piece to the puzzle and escape with us to the distant world of Avenir Eclectia.

Fast facts:
Definition: Multi-author microfiction project, online, and someday as a print anthology from Splashdown Books with possible novel spinoffs for the very brave among us…
On the web: http://www.avenireclectia.com
Avenir Eclectia soundtracks: http://eleonmusic.virb.com/avenir-eclectia