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Following the lead of the Six Word

Following the lead of the Six Word Story group on Flickr and Caterina's prompt, Wired asked some prominent writers to pen their own six word stories. "Hemingway once wrote a story in just six words ('For sale: baby shoes, never worn.') and is said to have called it his best work." Got any good ones?

By Jason Kottke  •  Oct 25, 2006 at 12:26 pm  •  Caterina Fake   ernesthemingway   writing

There are 55 reader comments

Robert  •  Oct 25 2006  •  12:37PM

Kottke meets maker, edits his posts.

gorckat  •  Oct 25 2006  •  12:49PM

She used me. I stopped feeling.

Doug  •  Oct 25 2006  •  12:52PM

Blog read, comment left. World unchanged.

fRedline  •  Oct 25 2006  •  12:53PM

Snow fell, obscuring the toils of futility.

Dan Boland  •  Oct 25 2006  •  12:57PM

My rapist was set free today.

pete  •  Oct 25 2006  •  1:05PM

Doug's comment read, day made better.

pete  •  Oct 25 2006  •  1:06PM

she left as he woke up.

Filip Salomonsson  •  Oct 25 2006  •  1:14PM

Those six words changed her life.

Ryan Guill  •  Oct 25 2006  •  1:17PM

six should be enough for anybody

the patriarch  •  Oct 25 2006  •  1:18PM

Doc, it bleeds when I pee.

Ryan Guill  •  Oct 25 2006  •  1:19PM

Classified: Seeking mute with trust-fund

sorry, couldn't help that one; the contents of this comment do not necessarily reflect the views of the author...

emily  •  Oct 25 2006  •  1:25PM

We met in a phone booth.

dp  •  Oct 25 2006  •  1:25PM

Easy to write tragic love stories.

narnia  •  Oct 25 2006  •  1:34PM

Asking alot of your brother's lover.

Jake  •  Oct 25 2006  •  1:36PM

Six word stories not for amateurs.

panoptican  •  Oct 25 2006  •  1:48PM

Ubiquitous nothing assaulted my negative ego.

Trent  •  Oct 25 2006  •  1:53PM

She sat alone in the rain.

Trent  •  Oct 25 2006  •  1:57PM

Also, this one...

Golden ring, found under a dresser.

Ryan Guill  •  Oct 25 2006  •  2:01PM

He could... but can't. Too risky.

grey  •  Oct 25 2006  •  2:10PM

And then he realized the truth.

Kyle  •  Oct 25 2006  •  2:15PM

Bedroom floor, used condom wasn't mine.

Mike L.  •  Oct 25 2006  •  2:17PM

Started car, noticed samurai indicator. Shit.

aaron  •  Oct 25 2006  •  2:21PM

What happens when I push this?

Joe Reskin  •  Oct 25 2006  •  2:22PM

Then she said, "It's my stop."

lavonne  •  Oct 25 2006  •  2:25PM

My alcoholic ex-husband died last week. [true story]

AnonymousCoward  •  Oct 25 2006  •  2:37PM

I love ex-soulmate: pain still

Emotional cryptanalysis: breaking code,heart slowly.

Martin  •  Oct 25 2006  •  2:44PM

Born. Love. Live. Learn. Die Decay.

benny  •  Oct 25 2006  •  2:49PM

Let's pretend this never happened, sugar.

Jonathan  •  Oct 25 2006  •  2:52PM

We eye the precipice—no return.

Jonathan  •  Oct 25 2006  •  2:53PM

Within her cocoon, I was renewed.

mathew  •  Oct 25 2006  •  3:09PM

some days just aren't worth it

Nonchalant Savant  •  Oct 25 2006  •  3:52PM

My math deficiency has always plagued me.

Dan  •  Oct 25 2006  •  3:52PM

my first time was really great

Dan  •  Oct 25 2006  •  3:56PM

microsoft needs to get a clue

ardy  •  Oct 25 2006  •  4:04PM

they eloped, then fell in love.

Ajit  •  Oct 25 2006  •  4:15PM

It was then did I realize...

Dan  •  Oct 25 2006  •  4:41PM

What happens after we pass away?

A child was born in Bethlehem.

Pain in my chest!? Ugh. [Thump]

She smiles so bright. Feels warm.

Input fifty cents output Mountain Dew.

Priest, rabbi, dog enter. Laughter ensues.

Scott  •  Oct 25 2006  •  4:52PM

She broke my heart. I lived.

SuperJdynamite  •  Oct 25 2006  •  5:03PM

Me green angry. Stupid gamma rays!

Bob.  •  Oct 25 2006  •  5:10PM

Who's hand is that? Oh. Mine.

Mole  •  Oct 25 2006  •  5:32PM

Fuck! That was not the plan!

Matt  •  Oct 25 2006  •  6:08PM

It all stopped when I died.

Jo Di Magio  •  Oct 25 2006  •  6:41PM

Be lame, be stupid, be American.

dmac  •  Oct 25 2006  •  8:05PM

Game winning touchdown wins football game.

Mal  •  Oct 25 2006  •  8:41PM

If only I had known earlier.


I always watch at a distance.

Julian  •  Oct 25 2006  •  9:02PM

New rule: Six word comment limit!

Colin K  •  Oct 25 2006  •  10:44PM

Hey guys, watch this! Aaaaaaaarrrrggghhh..... (thump).

Colin K  •  Oct 25 2006  •  10:45PM

Kottke buys moleskine. Weeps from happiness.

clarence rosario  •  Oct 26 2006  •  9:00PM

Writer's block sucks: I got nothin'.

michael  •  Oct 27 2006  •  4:03AM

feeling needed was better than surviving.

Tony  •  Oct 27 2006  •  6:56AM

He fell alone. I stood silent.

Shawn Lea  •  Oct 28 2006  •  11:38PM

Cow died. STOP. Come home. STOP

She should never have married him.

Everything and nothing - it's all there.

He asked for his key back.

Gary said, "Have a good trip."

Second City. Second marriage. Second mortgage.

The snow falled lightly on cedars.

"It's good to see you...really."

casey  •  Oct 28 2006  •  11:48PM

What's that blue thing doing here?

Thiyagaraj  •  Nov 03 2006  •  4:36AM

I have the emperor's new clothes! :-P

Sue  •  Nov 03 2006  •  6:43AM

Happiness all-over me. Smiles come flying.

This thread is closed to new comments. Thanks to everyone who responded.

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