Ernest Miller Hemingway (July 21, 1899—July 2, 1961) is a Pulitzer and Nobel prize winning author considered by many to be one of the most influential American writers of the 20th century. While it would be entirely appropriate to devote an entire blog post to a discussion of his life and works, that is not my intention*. Rather, I am more interested in a form of writing that Hemingway is alleged to have invented single-handedly, on a bet; the six word story.

This is the story he composed.

For sale: baby shoes, never worn.

The ultimate in minimalist writing, all the more powerful for its brevity, it has inspired scores of imitators, both amateurs and professional authors (including such luminaries as Magaret Atwood, Jeffery Eugenides, Charles Stross, and Orson Scott Card, among others) alike, whose efforts are collected on the excellent website Six Word Stories.

Here are a couple of my favorites:
Machine. Unexpectedly, I’d invented a time
7/01/2009
—Alan Moore

Leia: “Baby’s yours.” Luke: “Bad news…”
18/02/2009
—Steven Meretzky

This form of writing is known as flash fiction, which is commonly defined as any piece of work 1000 words or less, making any six word story an extreme example of the category.

Compose your own and post it in the comments!

*For those interested in further learning, I recommend taking a look at Timeless Hemingway. The website features a wealth of information about the author, including book resources, biographical information, photos, and a quote finder. And of course, we have an impressive collection of works by and about Hemingway here in DCPL.

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