Writing 6 Fiction- AKA The Short Short Story

[Mykul]

In the 1920s, Ernest Hemingway bet a group of colleagues $10 that he could write a story in only 6 words.

His story- [B]"For sale: baby shoes, never worn."[/B]
Needless to say, he got paid...

A little more recently, the short short story form was further explored by some of the more prominent writers and other celebrities of our time. Their pieces were published in an article in [U]Wired Magazine[/U]. Here are a few of those submissions:

[B]Failed SAT. Lost scholarship. Invented rocket.[/B]
- William Shatner

[B]Automobile warranty expires. So does engine.[/B]
- Stan Lee

[B]The baby’s blood type? Human, mostly.[/B]
- Orson Scott Card

[B]Kirby had never eaten toes before.[/B]
- Kevin Smith

[B][U]The Challenge:[/U][/B] Do the same. Write a story [U]in six words exactly[/U]. Keep in mind that your piece should be a story, not just a random phrase. Look above at the examples given.

[B]Here's mine: No Photoshop. Made avatar in Paint.[/B]

[B]Addendum:[/B] If this thread gets closed because it's already been done, I'll lose my mind. I spent ten minutes searching the site for a thread with this same premise and couldn't find one.

[Sandy]

[quote name='Mykul'][B]Addendum:[/B] If this thread gets closed because it's already been done, I'll lose my mind. I spent ten minutes searching the site for a thread with this same premise and couldn't find one.[/QUOTE]

Relax. If everybody thought like that, nobody would dare to post anything. And even if there was a similar thread here, this one would most likely not be closed. There's an unwritten rule here that you should check the first few pages or so for similar threads; if you can't find any, you're free to post your own. Or that's at least the way I think of it.

As for the topic itself, I find it absolutely fascinating. I can't come up with a decent short short story myself, but I have to say that the original one from Hemingway just blew my mind. In just six words, he painted an entire story about a child lost before birth and the grieving parents. It shows that he's a professional author, doesn't it? ;D

[The Spectacular Professor]

[B]Holy crap, this is quite difficult.[/B]

Eh, I'll try again later.

[Allamorph]

[quote name='Mykul][B]Addendum:[/B'] If this thread gets closed because it's already been done, I'll lose my mind.[/quote]
[FONT=Arial]Heh. No worries, then. (^_^)

------------------

Pilot; Navigator. Sighted dame. Sank same.[/FONT]

[Doublehex]

[B]My headphones broke. Chaos ensued then.[/B]

[Shy]

[b][size=1]John hated Jane. So did Jane.

It wasn't murder, it was breakfast.

"Jesus has returned. News at eleven."[/b]

-Shy[/size]

[Mykul]

[SIZE="2"][SIZE="3"][SIZE="2"][quote name='Sandy']It shows that he's a professional author, doesn't it? ;D[/QUOTE]

Yes, it sure does show the extent of his talents as a writer! Too bad he ended up going completely insane towards the end of his life...

[B]Damn! Everything had gone so well...[/B]

[B]Submarines shouldn't leak. This one did.[/B]

[B]Basement was dark. Wall was hard.[/B][/SIZE][/SIZE][/SIZE]

[Ellerby]

[FONT="Tahoma"][COLOR="DimGray"][B]Walter found vengeance at his neighbors.

Free candy. Come in side entrance.[/B]

Bahaha, that's fun.[/COLOR][/FONT]

[Mykul]

[quote name='8bit']Bahaha, that's fun.[/QUOTE]

Isn't it, though?

[B]Melting walls, ceiling. Californian Eskimo life.[/B]

[Allamorph]

[FONT=Arial]Young man, you look like my son....[/FONT]

[Mykul]

[quote name='Allamorph'][FONT=Arial]Young man, you look like my son....[/FONT][/QUOTE]

Cheater! That's seven words! Allamorph, I never in my wildest dreams would have thought that you would be the first person to break the six word count rule!

[Aaryanna]

[COLOR="DarkGreen"][FONT="tahoma"]Basement Cat: You have been [I]snatched![/I][/FONT][/COLOR]

[The Spectacular Professor]

[B]Anthology master, beaten at own game.[/B]

This is fun.

[SunfallE]

[COLOR="RoyalBlue"][FONT="Lucida Sans Unicode"]Aceburner: Aspiring detective who fell hard.

=P[/FONT][/COLOR]

[Zen]

[color=royalblue][size=1]

Meh. I tried. Two serious, two not.

[b]"Victory smells like sweat and blood."[/b]

[b]"He stands strong, even in death."[/b]

[b]"Snakes... It had to be snakes..."[/b] (A little Indie...)

[b]"Vodka, what a cruel mistress..."[/b][/color][/size]

[Rachmaninoff]

[QUOTE][COLOR="DarkGreen"][FONT="tahoma"]Basement Cat: You have been [I]snatched![/I][/FONT][/COLOR][/QUOTE][SIZE="1"]So [I]that's[/I] how it works, I should have known. XP[/SIZE]

[B]Exquisite performances; the final note; melodious.[/B]

[Ellerby]

[FONT="Tahoma"][COLOR="DimGray"]Music man plays the wrong chord.[/COLOR][/FONT]

[Allamorph]

[quote name='Mykul']Cheater! That's seven words! Allamorph, I never in my wildest dreams would have thought that you would be the first person to break the six word count rule![/quote]
[FONT=Arial]I realized what had happened last night during my two-am insomnia attack. Then I laughed really hard.

Crap. :p

---------------

Earwig: unpleasant morning surprise. Squish time![/FONT]

[Ellerby]

[FONT="Tahoma"][COLOR="DimGray"][quote name='Allamorph'][FONT=Arial]Earwig: unpleasant morning surprise. Squish time![/FONT][/QUOTE]
Allamorph, I can relate to that.

(six words, haha!)[/COLOR][/FONT]

[Allamorph]

[QUOTE=8bit][FONT="Tahoma"][COLOR="DimGray"]Allamorph, I can relate to that.

(six words, haha!)[/COLOR][/FONT][/QUOTE]
[FONT=Arial]Boy, I pulled it off my [I]ear.[/I]


And now let's get back to writing [I]stories[/I], and less spammery. 'Kay? :animesmil[/FONT]

[Decay]

I think the real challnge is to make the six words speak more than they do. So far most of the entries have been pretty straight forward, with little to no back story.

Well, I might as well try. Here it goes!

[B]The mirror broke when he fell.[/B]
I don't think I got it here... Too literal.

[B]I heard you. It just hurts.[/B]
This is better, but leaves too much up to the imagination.

[B]But inside, she wasn't kissing him.[/B]
I like this one. Nowhere as good as Hemingway's, but not bad.

[Allamorph]

[quote name='Decay']I think the real challnge is to make the six words speak more than they do. So far most of the entries have been pretty straight forward, with little to no back story.[/quote]
[FONT=Arial]Incidentally, that's the thought that was keeping me awake last night, before I realised my earlier faux pas with the attempted Alzheimer's reference.

And I just spelt "realised" British. How odd.[/FONT]

[The Spectacular Professor]

[quote name='SunfallE'][COLOR="RoyalBlue"][FONT="Lucida Sans Unicode"]Aceburner: Aspiring detective who fell hard.[/FONT][/COLOR][/QUOTE]

[B]Sunfall: Hits nail right on head.[/B]

[B]Scientist jumps off roof. Theory disproven.[/B]

[Sabrina]

[FONT="Tahoma"]Many of these stories sound like advertising slogans, even the one done by Ernest Hemingway.

Anyway...[QUOTE][COLOR="DarkGreen"][FONT="tahoma"]Basement Cat: You have been [I]snatched![/I][/FONT][/COLOR][/QUOTE]XD I love that one. Hehe.[QUOTE][B]Exquisite performances; the final note; melodious.[/B][/QUOTE]I like that one, the final performance of a master who has spent their life performing. :catgirl:

And now my attempt:

[B]Pot boy; Cold steel is unforgiving.[/B][/FONT]

[Mykul]

[B]Mykul checks thread; finds another cheater.[/B]

[QUOTE]"Vodka, what a cruel mistress..." -Zen[/QUOTE]

Another cheater, but this time cheating in the opposite direction. Remember, stories should be exactly 6 words.