The Six Word Story

When it comes to literary gimmicks, the six word story is one of our favorites. The concept of telling a story in just six words is attributed to Ernest Hemingway, who wrote the following micro-tale:

For sale: baby shoes, never worn.

It hits you right in the gut, doesn't it? It's tough to compete with Ernie, but it sure is fun to try. Well-known authors have given it shot, and used the six word structure to write their own memoirs for the book Not Quite What I Was Planning. And a few years ago, Wired Magazine collected some of the best six word stories from popular sci-fi writers. Like a haiku, the concept is pretty simple (Use six words to make a story. Contractions are permitted), yet coming up with a good one is harder than you'd think. Since we love a challenge, we wrote a few of our own:

Elevator out of order. Use trampoline.

Bird cried, "Feathers? I want fingers!"

Storming again. Cancel the kite fights.

Hide! Here comes Beyonce. She's pissed.

This is all a dream, right?

"Kitty will be fine," he lied.

The elephant ate everything, even Paul.

Wizard vs. Jedi Knight? Audience wins.

"Ha," said Jen as she died.

Party tonight. Bring your own cape.

Did that clown painting just wink?

Clock struck six. Mike struck clock.

Has anyone seen my porcupi—ow!

Man suffocated by hungry giant seahorse.

Without makeup, Gaga looked much better.

"Sorry. We can't arrest bees, ma'am."

Chill out, Ghost of Christmas Future.

Six words are not nearly enough.

Wait. [Sniffs] That's not lemonade. Noooo!

He lowered the gun. They kissed.

"Mom is on Facebook," Emily sighed.

VH1 sucks! Wanna fight about it?

The arrows are useless. Use bullets!

"The lucky ones die…" lamented Robocop.

Now it's your turn. But be warned, writing six word stories is highly addictive. It's the crack cocaine of creative writing. Once you start, you can't stop.