We've done short stories, even really short stories, but this takes it to the extreme: wired magazine asked 33 writers of science fiction, fantasy, and horror to compose a story in six words or less. Some of the results are pretty good, including one by our own OSC.
My personal favorite is still the Hemingway story that inspired the them all, but there's quite a bit of talent demonstrated in the rest.
Comments? Anybody want to try writing one?
Posted by tnwilz (Member # 4080) on :
Argot awoke suddenly. Proximity alarm screamed.
Ahh, thats more of a start, huh?
[This message has been edited by tnwilz (edited October 26, 2006).]
Posted by wetwilly (Member # 1818) on :
Humanity is God's joke. Get it? -Dave Williams-
Posted by oliverhouse (Member # 3432) on :
Many of these weren't what I would call "stories" -- streams of words having a semblance of a beginning, middle, and end in time, with hints of a conflict- character growth-based "plot" -- but a surprising number of them were. Margaret Atwood's is my favorite of those listed.
Here's the world's shortest fanfic: Hobbits destroy ring, new age begins.
Historical fiction: Vortigern invites Saxons, Britannia becomes England.
Posted by Jammrock (Member # 3293) on :
Newborn screaming, no sleep for me.
From the list, these are my favorites (and I'm not being biased):
The baby’s blood type? Human, mostly. - Orson Scott Card
Kirby had never eaten toes before. - Kevin Smith
Failed SAT. Lost scholarship. Invented rocket. - William Shatner
Automobile warranty expires. So does engine. - Stan Lee
Batman Sues Batsignal: Demands Trademark Royalties. - Cory Doctorow
[This message has been edited by Jammrock (edited October 26, 2006).]
Posted by wbriggs (Member # 2267) on :
I can't remember who did this, but it may have been the source (unless Hemingway was):
Science Fiction Story for Telepaths
Aw, you know what I mean.
Posted by wbriggs (Member # 2267) on :
The rest of this story is
--
Cute AI, till it gets angry.
--
*I* found the body...too talkative.
--
I caught a leviathan. More bait?
Posted by trousercuit (Member # 3235) on :
Lost my limbs. Call me "Matt." (I had to. Don't hit me.)
Magic lost, magic regained, enemies toast.
Local kid gets rich, devours souls.
Shape-shifter, will doppelgang for food.
We could also play "guess the story" with these:
Big fish. Lunatic captain. Dead people.
Evil space virus... now inexplicably inert.
Futuristic war, long-winded political diatribes.
Can't we all just grok along?
Big tornado, psychedelic dreams... weren't they?
Hardy adventurers go questing and win. (This is a one-to-many relationship.)
Posted by rstegman (Member # 3233) on :
Elbow Bumped Button, Universe Ended
Posted by ChrisOwens (Member # 1955) on :
The basic plot for most of the Star Trek TNG episodes: Problems. Reverse Tachyon Pulse. Problems Solved. Not to leave TOS out: Unknown Planet. Green women. Kiss, leave. DS9: Space Station. Wormhole. Dominion. So what? Voyager: Lost in Gamma Quadrant. Story wanted. Enterprise: That's the guy from Quantum Leap!
The Wheel Of Time: Middle Earth meets Dune. Nothing happens. Alvin The Maker: Alvin goes to court. Yet again.
[This message has been edited by ChrisOwens (edited October 27, 2006).]
Posted by Robert Nowall (Member # 2764) on :
Time flies. Girl cries. Universe dies.
Posted by franc li (Member # 3850) on :
What was that poem in Joe vs. the Volcano? I think it had more than 6 words.
Posted by Survivor (Member # 213) on :
I admire Clarks integrity for not cutting, but I've admired him more if he'd realized that his story only needed five words. Indeed, quite a few of those "stories" are longer than they need to be.
Posted by The Colonel (Member # 4136) on :
My hair burned, and nothing else.
Posted by trousercuit (Member # 3235) on :
Yeah, Survivor, but they had to fill their quota, didn't they? (Publisher: We want a 120,000-word novel...) So I suppose this is Clarke's five:
God: 'Cancel GENESIS.' Universe gone.
Hmm. Clarke seems to have a problem with this in general.
Posted by Inkwell (Member # 1944) on :
"I came, I saw, I conquered."
'Nuff said.
In Latin, that's only three words.
(Oh, and just so Kathleen won't have to waste precious energy getting after me about not referencing my quote, that gem is courtesy of Julius Ceasar.)
Inkwell ----------------- "The difference between a writer and someone who says they want to write is merely the width of a postage stamp." -Anonymous
Posted by Robert Nowall (Member # 2764) on :
Nightfall. Suns set. Everybody goes mad.
Posted by trousercuit (Member # 3235) on :
Of course they do. Utterly believable.
Posted by franc li (Member # 3850) on :
"In Latin, that's only three words" sounds like a story to me. But then I am a linguist. :smiles smugly: Posted by trousercuit (Member # 3235) on :
We should have six-word discussions.
Posted by oliverhouse (Member # 3432) on :
It would certainly decrease absurd pontifications.
Posted by trousercuit (Member # 3235) on :
One question: could Survivor handle it?
Posted by Robert Nowall (Member # 2764) on :
Could he? I can, just barely...
Posted by oliverhouse (Member # 3432) on :
Do contractions count as one word?
Posted by Robert Nowall (Member # 2764) on :
How far apart are they now?
Posted by oliverhouse (Member # 3432) on :
Clarify, or someone'll try something weird.
[This message has been edited by oliverhouse (edited October 29, 2006).]
Posted by trousercuit (Member # 3235) on :
A contraction is a single word.
Posted by trousercuit (Member # 3235) on :
An'th's's'a'n'w'rd's'ntence.
Posted by Survivor (Member # 213) on :
The whole conversation, or just me?
Posted by Survivor (Member # 213) on :
I just accidentally deleted my addendum Posted by Survivor (Member # 213) on :
Want a post with four letters?
Posted by quantumphotonkid (Member # 4150) on :
Princess Kidnapped. Villain Killed. Princess Rescued.
Posted by Robert Nowall (Member # 2764) on :
Everybody here already knows those words.
Posted by Survivor (Member # 213) on :
How about six in original order?
Okay, I'm just kidding. I was a little mad at the time, but now I think it was merely funny. As my above posts indicate, I started writing a lengthy reply right after my six word post and somehow managed to alt-z or whatever it out of existance. So I noted that in six words, then spent a minute thinking bad things, then wrote another post to commemorate that. My original plan was for a half page explication of the previous post, but I'm going to settle for this paragraph instead because I don't want a repeat of yesterday. Even if that's now funny, the second time would take another day or so to fade into proper perspective.
Posted by apeiron (Member # 2565) on :
Thanks, this thread is very entertaining.
Posted by quantumphotonkid (Member # 4150) on :
Just six {story goes here} words.
Posted by trousercuit (Member # 3235) on :
This song is just six words long...
Zounds and dragon dung. It's seven.
Posted by oliverhouse (Member # 3432) on :
Survivor: Three times six equals eighteen. Posted by trousercuit (Member # 3235) on :
Here's an interesting idea. How about only six-word sentences? For an entire paragraph? Without producing nothing but fragments? Like I just did?
I'd be mightily impressed by that.
Posted by Robert Nowall (Member # 2764) on :
Would you add syllables to haiku?
Posted by Survivor (Member # 213) on :
Haiku...ry...er, no.
Posted by oliverhouse (Member # 3432) on :
Trousercuit, we can compose those paragraphs. We may get monotonous results, though.
Also, sentence structure can alter meanings. Homogenous sentences reduce continuity of thought. Longer sentences show cause and effect. Artificial limitations thus reduce overall clarity.
Some constructs are hard to avoid. Conjunctions may start sentences, for instance. That violates the exercise's spirit, though. Grammatical sentences are harder, but better. At least, that's what I think.
It's an interesting exercise to try. I wouldn't go for very long.
Posted by starsin (Member # 4081) on :
I know I'm late, but my favorites were:
Wasted day. Wasted life. Dessert, please. - Steven Meretzky
Epitaph: Foolish humans, never escaped Earth. - Vernor Vinge
TIME MACHINE REACHES FUTURE!!! … nobody there … - Harry Harrison
Tick tock tick tock tick tick. - Neal Stephenson
Failed SAT. Lost scholarship. Invented rocket. - William Shatner
Elbow Bumped Button, Universe Ended - rstegman
Epitaph: He shouldn't have fed it. - Brian Herbert
God to Earth: “Cry more, noobs!” - Marc Laidlaw
Dinosaurs return. Want their oil back. - David Brin
Bang postponed. Not Big enough. Reboot. - David Brin
Mind of its own. Damn lawnmower. - David Brin
Please, this is everything, I swear. - Orson Scott Card
The Axis in WWII: haiku! Gesundheit. - Howard Waldrop
Leia: "Baby's yours." Luke: "Bad news…" - Steven Meretzky
Dorothy: "**** it, I'll stay here." - Steven Meretzky
Sorr if this is long... but i liked 'em all !
Posted by trousercuit (Member # 3235) on :
oliverhouse:
quote:Trousercuit, we can compose those paragraphs. We may get monotonous results, though...
*clap* *clap* *clap*
Posted by Survivor (Member # 213) on :
Nobody seems to have noticed my little word play on "no" as a syllable you could reasonably add to "haiku".
Posted by franc li (Member # 3850) on :
This thread reads like question tennis.
Posted by oliverhouse (Member # 3432) on :
[bows]
Six words is so short that it's probably too limiting to be very helpul. What might be more interesting is a requirement for a very long word count -- say, 30 or 40 words -- and insist that there be no run-ons, no excess words, no rambling thought processes. Complete clarity with 40-word sentences would be interesting, and would provide enough flexibility to avoid the monotony.
