A while ago I mentioned a website called 100 Word Stories.  Every day there is a new topic, and a regular band of writers create stories from that idea that are exactly 100 words.  No more.  No less.  They also welcome anyone to write their own and submit them in the comments.  If they're any good, then they will feature them on the home page.  I occasionally have submitted a few, and in the last few days they all have been featured.  A couple of days ago this was the teaser idea:

Tell us about the time you saved the city.

And I wrote this story.  And today this was the teaser idea:

Why are you wearing that shirt?

To which I responded with this.  I also had one featured last December.  I think it's a pretty cool idea, and a great writing exercise.  It forces you to be expressive, and yet concise at the same time.  It also makes you stop and edit your thoughts, so that you get just the right sound, with just the right words.  I'm not very good at editing my own work, so being forced to do it is actually very good for me.

Try it sometime.