100 Words or Fewer Writing Contest

My first place story: http://www.100wordsorfewerwritingcontest.com/index.php?id=4

It can also be read below along with the critique I got along with it.

THE WEIGHT OF THE WORLD

The crowd gets blurry in Simon’s eyes.

“Don’t slow down!” a woman cries.

“Yeah, show Japan what we’re made of,” a gravelly voice proclaims.

Tears stream down Simon’s fat face as he stares at the half-eaten hot dog in his hand, his plate stacked to the brim with more.

Simon looks over at his competitor—rake thin and dunking his hot dogs in water—and he grimaces, stuffing the remainder of the dog in his mouth.

One more bite and I’ll die, he thinks, his left arm going numb.

All the while, the audience screams, “Chew! Chew! Chew!”

#1 Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery”meets contemporary more-is-better culture. I love how the sentences – which are all about eating and stuffing and feeling full – lie on the page in thin lines surrounded by white space. E.B.