Six words

It is believed that Ernest Hemingway once wrote a story in six words for a bet. It is also believed that he considered it his best work. Whether any of this is true, I don’t know. What I do know is that he wrote a story in six words;

‘For sale: baby shoes, never worn.’

And, after a little research, I came across the article ‘Very Short Stories’ (http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/14.11/sixwords.html) on Wired magazine’s website. In it they asked a number of writers to come up with short stories in six words.

Here are a few;

Failed SAT. Lost scholarship. Invented rocket.
- William Shatner

Vacuum collision. Orbits diverge. Farewell, love.
- David Brin

Automobile warranty expires. So does engine.
- Stan Lee

Machine. Unexpectedly, I’d invented a time
- Alan Moore

Longed for him. Got him. Shit.
- Margaret Atwood

With bloody hands, I say good-bye.
- Frank Miller

This made me think further about each sentence and how much can be achieved by being as specific as possible with each word. This again echoes what I’ve said about James M. Cain, Raymond Chandler and Dashiell Hammett’s work. The style Camus perfected in The Outsider.

With this in mind, I have made several attempts myself;

‘Quiet inside. Fewer clothes. No dinner.’

‘Lies; all lived happily ever after.’

‘Girl meets boy. Girl leaves boy.’

‘Passed obstacles and lessons. The end.’

‘Learned lessons and matured. The end.’

‘I experienced an arc. The end.’

‘Some words lead to the end.’