Six word stories

[Derek]

Originally Posted by Burt

Why six words? Why not five? Or Ten?

That was in the article. Hemmingway wrote a six word story and called it his best work. Thus the Wired staff decided to see how other authors would craft a six-word story.

And are they supposed to just be original stories or...something linked with themselves?

They all seem quite original and not necessarily connected to themselves. Shatner's doesn't seem to be a reference to himself or any of his characters. Whedon's has the sort of funny-horror tack that he's known for, but it doesn't relate to any of his created works in any way I can see. I get the impression the staff sent something along the lines of the first two paragraphs to a number of notables and asked them to write their own. No context, no "try to relate to yourself or what you're known for," just write a six word story.

It is an funny idea though. How much (Or simple) something can boil down to. How someones style can be in just a few words. Or even a TV show/Book/Song/Opera/anything can be in a few words.

I agree with you and IJD both that it's impressive how much of a writer's voice comes through in just six words. And it's also interesting how often the six words end up being used humorously. They say brevity is the soul of wit, and certainly in fiver-writing as well as other humor, you're normally much more effective at being funny if you keep your jokes brief. But it seems to work the other way too. If you only have a few words to work with, more often than not what you write will end up being humorous. I guess that's due to the fact that other types of story need more build up. You can't get much plot or character development in six words.

IJD, have you heard of 55 Fiction? It's the same concept except you get 55 words to do it in. They have annual contests and select winners in various categories. I once saw a book with a compilation of previous winners and found it an interesting read.

And just for fun, I'm going to try writing a few six word stories.

"Don't eat my frog!" I screamed.

Here's one that hopefully has some character development:

Peter fell, but got back up.

And here's one that hopefully has some plot:

Bomb in tower. 5 minute timer.

[ijdgaf]

I have heard of similar projects before, but not that one in particular. There are a few compilations out there specifically dedicated to short-form fiction. Flash Fiction publishes a new anthology every few years or so, and has a 250-500 word requirement. MicroFiction was a project by an FSU professor (winner for each year got a crate of oranges) to create stories in 150 words or less. The guy died about ten years ago, and I don't think his mantle has been taken up. The class I'm in is specifically dedicated to these extremely short stories, but today was the first time we'd looked at anything... quite so short. Thanks for the link though, I actually have a few pieces that could probably go for that.

To those here who still don't really get it, Derek pretty much nailed it. These are intended as stories. Not sequels, not parodies, not homages -- stories. They were created to stand on their own and not tied to anything in particular, save for an obvious tribute to Hemmingway's template of sorts. I posted it here because I was pretty amazed by the list of names they managed to gather.

By the by, plot isn't really considered the defining factor in what makes a story a story. From what I've gathered from various contemporary musings on the subject, the key component is change. Whether character change, situational change, ideological change... if change hasn't occurred, it's not a story. Of course, there are many who wouldn't consider these pieces stories. But pushing the boundaries is part of what marks the post-modern era.

[Scooter]

This is a really cool discovery, IJD, thanks. For some reason it reminds me of the clarihew, in which you give a pithy biography in the space of a brief quatrain. I only ever remember the famous one about Davy, but the Wikipedia article has dozens more. (Off topic I know, sorry IJD.)

The next layer of coolness would be to tell six-word stories that are also palindromes. (I can think of two palindrome stories that are seven words, but not six.)

I think that it's reasonable to say that a story is something that evokes an event -- something that happened (fictional or not). Otherwise it's a description or an idea, but not a story.

[ijdgaf]

Off topic is fine, Scooter. I just didn't want this to turn into another excercise in parody that was neither original or forum appropriate.

Those Clerihews are pretty danged funny. Perhaps it has a bit to do with my inability to read them in any accent other than a British one.

Also, ha! Go Jung!

[Nate the Great]

Odd name, Clerihew. Sounds kinda like a snooty person sneezing.

Oh, and thanks for the title, Z. Almost makes me want to change my avatar every day just to drive you over the edge. I'm not going to, though. I just changed to the Power of Cheese Radd to tie it in with a thread that appeared to have died awhile ago. I have any number of Trek avatars, but I'm juvenile enough to want an animated one here.

Only palindrome I know off the top of my head is "A man, a plan, a canal, Panama." It's shocking how much tripe like that we learned in high school, right?

[mudshark]

Originally Posted by ijdgaf

Also, ha! Go Jung!

Heh, yeah. Liked the ones for Popper and Clive, as well.

Originally Posted by Infinite Improbability

Odd name, Clerihew. Sounds kinda like a snooty person sneezing.

For Heaven's sake, don't anyone tell him about Mondegreens...

...oh, nuts...

[Nate the Great]

Had to verify, but yeah I already knew about mondegreens. Still prefer snowclones, though.