ABSTRACT
This chapter describes the contours of the new fragmented kind of creative writing that is becoming popular on social networks while also, following Arthur Noble Applebee, considering how emerging digital genres may figure into narrative development—both individuals' development as storytellers and the development of narrative as a collection of practices that is rooted in both culture and technology. While microfiction exists outside of digital media, it has found a natural home in the context of digital platforms. The chapter explores the prevalence of microfiction on another social network, Tumblr. Tumblr is also unique in that it is typical for users to employ pseudonyms or avatars in order to remain anonymous. According to a recent Pew study of the most popular social networks, nearly 20 percent of internet users in the study's youngest demographic group used Tumblr, while only 5 percent of its oldest demographic group did so. The ten word story phenomenon reveals one of the logics of contemporary media.
