Write a 6-word Story

Yesterday I ran across an article about notable American authors asked to produce a 6-word short story. They produced some little gems. Funny, too.

What it brought to mind was my nephew Tucker at age 4 telling his relatives that he had learned to write. What he wrote as a demonstration was this: Aunt Peggy is a bad girl. Six words. Not a story exactly, there's no conflict or action. Nonetheless a lot is implied. Certainly he demonstrated that he can write fiction.

This morning, I thought of a 6-word sort-of-story that, at about 14,I thumbtacked to my bulletin board over my desk in my teen-age bedroom. It was a Weyerhauser recruiting ad with the headline: Send Me a Man Who Reads. Again, though, the rest of the story is implied.

It's not an easy assignment: to set up a character and a problem and a resolution in 6 words. Give it a shot and send the results. It's a fun problem.