SomTervo Posted January 17, 2011 Report Share Posted January 17, 2011 (edited) There was a competition in my Uni's student literature magazine, so I'll post their description of the challenge as it's pretty ideal: "Ernest Hemingway believed that a good writer could create a piece of fiction using only six words- a belief which has inspired our next competition. For our second issue, we’re taking flash fiction to the extreme, and asking our contributors to submit us their six word stories. If in need of inspiration, turn to Hemingway’s own six word story: 'For Sale: baby shoes, never worn.'" A few of mine are: "Beyond arms reach, his wife slipped" "Tear stained telephone, off the hook" "Slomo snow falls: torn love letters" "Reasonable man, broken promises, unreasonable world" "Android/hybrid/human: delete as necessary" Edited January 17, 2011 by kenshi_ryden 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MetalCaveman Posted January 17, 2011 Report Share Posted January 17, 2011 This looks interesting, however, it seems like threads tend to "die" fast here Anyway, my attempt at this: We searched, and death found us Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheForgetfulBrain Posted January 17, 2011 Report Share Posted January 17, 2011 This is damn tricky. I've never been good with the bones of grammar, but they would be helpful here. A silly one: Father, then child, came by surprise. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slithy toves Posted January 17, 2011 Report Share Posted January 17, 2011 only after death did she live. he needed to escape quickly then. empty the house still echoed laughter. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hot Heart Posted January 17, 2011 Report Share Posted January 17, 2011 Quick brown fox jumped lazy dog Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr W Phallus Posted January 17, 2011 Report Share Posted January 17, 2011 A card ('I Love You'); discarded. It's no Hemingway, that's for sure. (Unintentional second attempt) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SomTervo Posted January 17, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 17, 2011 Niiice. @Caveman: Yeah I hoped that the quick nature of composition would help keep it alive! @Brain: That's awesome. I've found it's no so much about grammar as you can subvert that a lot- like in a newspaper headline- but that word choice is God. Swapping out determiners for adjectives or changing words around can totally change the feel of the story. @slith: those are great, especially the first and last ones. 'Only after death' totally gets the point of the story in the background, and the 'empty house' one is really poetic but the meaning's quite hard to read? @Hot Heart: That's only 20 of the 26, yo! @Phallus: that's pretty sweet- using parenthesis is a really good idea, and surprising you can actually fit it into a six word simple sentence. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr W Phallus Posted January 17, 2011 Report Share Posted January 17, 2011 I impressed myself, to be honest. Just realised I had as many punctuation marks as I did words. Word choice is crucial, but it's not just about about choosing the right synonym, but recognising which words are superfluous to the meaning of the story and can be cut completely. It's a useful skill for anyone interested in writing, although I always end up under the word count in my essays from writing concisely. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hot Heart Posted January 17, 2011 Report Share Posted January 17, 2011 @kenshi_ryden: I know! But I'm telling a story. Kiss with open eyes. She's gone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thursday Next Posted January 17, 2011 Report Share Posted January 17, 2011 (edited) Off to the shops. Good buy. Game over. Insert coins to continue. Edited January 17, 2011 by Thursday Next Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slithy toves Posted January 17, 2011 Report Share Posted January 17, 2011 unbeknownst to her someone was watching. in all fairness he finished last. the table was set, empty again. i like this exercise. i hardly ever write concisely, i've been known to turn like two sentence work emails into 3 paragraphs. it's a challenge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thursday Next Posted January 17, 2011 Report Share Posted January 17, 2011 I just thought, here's a classic... "I came, I saw, I conquered." And something a little racy. Gay Magician, disappeared with a *POOF*! Smelly handed baker, kneaded a poo. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr W Phallus Posted January 17, 2011 Report Share Posted January 17, 2011 (edited) unbeknownst to her someone was watching. in all fairness he finished last. If you read these together, it sounds pretty dirty. At least it does in my mind. :/ Edited January 17, 2011 by withoutphallus Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SomTervo Posted January 17, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 17, 2011 (edited) unbeknownst to her someone was watching. in all fairness he finished last. If you read these together, it sounds pretty dirty. At least it does in my mind. :/ Hahahahaha. Inferred meaning taken to a whole other level That poof one's awesome, Thursday Next. (woooo, six words) (... but does the apostrophe "'s" count as another word hmmm?) @Slithy: that's exactly why I like it. You have to be really terse, but still give enough meaning with your word choice to make it readable. @Hot: That open eye kiss one is totally sweet. @Phallus: Yeah, word choice is key as two synonyms can have an identical meaning, but one can be more ambiguous or have slightly different connotations than the other, and that can completely change the tone or story of the sentence. "Him: 'Why, hello. Had enough yet?'" Edited January 17, 2011 by kenshi_ryden Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hot Heart Posted January 17, 2011 Report Share Posted January 17, 2011 Thanks! 'All on black', he resigned himself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheForgetfulBrain Posted January 17, 2011 Report Share Posted January 17, 2011 "I am loving these," Brain said. (Srs, though) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MetalCaveman Posted January 17, 2011 Report Share Posted January 17, 2011 Midnight, he screams, he dies slowly. We march, we fight, we die. Strike with fury, invaders will die. Time keeps passing, death will return. ... Yeah, I think I notice a pattern here... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr W Phallus Posted January 17, 2011 Report Share Posted January 17, 2011 The candyfloss falls, hand clutching tight. (Think this is the first time that staring blankly at a computer screen has actually given me inspiration) Mind blank; deadline in an hour. Mind blank; the clock marches on. (inspired by my unexpected inspiration) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheMightyEthan Posted January 17, 2011 Report Share Posted January 17, 2011 Conjunctions are typically considered a single word, so thing's like "it's" and "can't" should be fine. Here's my attempt: Burn cuts, gentle drift. Pinpoint stars. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MagicMagicPony Posted January 17, 2011 Report Share Posted January 17, 2011 I was hungry so I ate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MagicMagicPony Posted January 17, 2011 Report Share Posted January 17, 2011 I posted and no one responded 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MagicMagicPony Posted January 17, 2011 Report Share Posted January 17, 2011 This is now probably considered spamming. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr W Phallus Posted January 17, 2011 Report Share Posted January 17, 2011 No immediate response; she craved attention. (you are a she right MMP? ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MagicMagicPony Posted January 17, 2011 Report Share Posted January 17, 2011 Dong fella has got my number Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hot Heart Posted January 18, 2011 Report Share Posted January 18, 2011 He hung up. 'WHO WAS PHONE?' 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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