Do you have a story to tell? Maybe a novel you’ve been planning to write one of these days when you find the time, but you never seem to find the time? Would a 440-word story be more manageable?

Event founder Aaron Matthews was inspired to create Fiction 440 after reading about a similar Chicago event and brought it to Lansing to encourage creativity, community, and, indirectly, entrepreneurism.

Fiction 440 gives writers the opportunity to share their stories in “flash fiction” format: 440 words or fewer. There is a catch — stories must include a combination of words, a character, theme or other idea provided before the event, and they change each time. Ok, there’s another catch — no excerpts or poetry are allowed.

This is Greater Lansing’s chance to show off its creativity. Some stories are great. We have a lot of talent in this community. There is no judging, and even when the stories aren’t so great, you never have to sit through anything too painful since they are so short. The audience is gentle, laughing at the slightest hint of humor and applauding after every story. (In spite of this, I’m planning on staying in the audience.)

While there are regular readers, each event attracts a few new participants. There is lots of time for meeting those new people and socializing both before and during the event.

Locations rotate around Lansing. (Last night’s event was the second I’ve attended at the Broad Art Museum.) Dates are not fixed, but happen somewhat regularly every six weeks or so. Keep up with the event on Facebook.