6-Word Short Stories
Brevity is the soul of wit. Some wit named Shakespeare coined that. With that in mind, let’s consider the 6-word story.
My father-in-law was known for the expression, “Faster, funnier!” He’d call it out whenever your talk was unfocused, your story dragged, you were unfunny.
The lesson learned, keep it short. Short is good, short is shutup.
Consider the 6-word story. This literary tidbit is a writing genre of minimalist flash fiction — with conflict, characterization, emotion, humor, resolution, life. As much as you can get into six little (or long) words.
Here’s one from Margaret Atwood: Longed for him. Got him. Shit.
Hemingway supposedly started it all with his heartbreaking 6-word story about unused baby shoes: For Sale: baby shoes, never worn.
It may be apocryphal, but it’s said that Hemingway made a wager with friends that he could write a short story in only six words. He won ten bucks. None of this has been confirmed. It could be all bull. Versions of the story have been around since the early 1900s. The May 16, 1910 edition of The Spokane Press had a brief item headlined “Tragedy of Baby's Death is Revealed in Sale of Clothes.” The story talked about a classified ad that had appeared in the newspaper and told a sad tale. The ad read: “Baby’s hand made trousseau and baby’s bed for sale. Never been used.”
Faster, funnier!
Below are some attempts at it. Write your own, send me one. Tell a story in six short.
Shutup!
- Tom
Birth of a Family
Girl crying. Boy denying. Baby coming.
Story for Life
Twins in bathtub in tree. Tornado.
Startling News
“I am your father,” she said.
Planet of the Apes
Plastic water bottle found on Mars.
Clear Out
Educated, trained, experienced, fired. Artificial intelligence.
Foot in Mouth
Woulda, coulda, shoulda thought before talking.
Naturally
Grizzly mauls hiker. Fox blames Biden.
Lost and Found
Hoffa found. Earhart found. Trump lost.
Classic War Story
Farewell to arms. Double amputation. Gangrene.
Feeling Guilty
Addict, burglar, murderer, escaped con, son.