Monday, March 29, 2010

Writing Exercise to Challenge Your Brain


Ernest Hemingway was once challenged to write a story in six words. His response?

"For sale: baby shoes, never used."

Wow, right? Six words was all he needed to paint a very powerful picture!  So, I thought I would try this exercise and man, oh man, is it ever difficult.  Sheesh!  Tell a story in six words?  Oy vey!

I finally wrote something that I was satisfied with.  But, it's 7 words.  I wonder what Papa Hemingway would say? But for what it's worth, here's what I came up with:

Bankrupted woman seeks employment at gun factory.

What do you think of my 7-word story?

Try it!  It's very challenging...but it will give your brain a great workout.  I truly believe that less is more. And I would love to hear what you come up with.

9 comments:

Dayna Del Val said...

Super cool assignment Debbie! Do you think there are happy ones? My mind immediately went to disaster. Here goes...

Red wine: What happened last night?
Plus sign: What to do now?
It's over: sad sigh of relief.

Thanks for the challenge. Am going to try to think of a less depressing one.

Lisa said...

Wow, 6 words IS tough. Here is one with 7...

Lost: Wedding band in red-light district

I saw an old tombstone from the 1920's that this assignment reminds me of. Three names, two children and a mother. Children died first, within a few days of each other, then the mother. Inscription read "Of consumption". I got chills imagining what it must have been like for them.

Jacob Cooper said...

Yeah, this is an interesting challenge. I love to write short-short stories. Keep up the good work.

Damian said...

Acid tripping general contemplates pushing button.

Kish said...

I really like this Debbie! now let's see...
Sun shining, heart racing, feeling...lovely

So debbie, tell me what do you think?

Anonymous said...

Yikes. Hemingway did it again! In only six words. Way to go, Papa. Dare I try. Let's see. "Newlywed wondered why his wife got a headache on the first night." Wait. That's much too long -- twelve words. How about, "Wife is in the other room while I type away." Nope. Still too long, but only ten words. Can I produce a shorter story? "Man lived alone and hung himself." OK, I did it. Not very good. I better stop. By the way, thanks for a thought-provoking post. -- MikeB

jordan said...

My attention span is... ooh, shiny!

Unknown said...

Thats The Way I Like It

was the first thing to come to mind..

Anonymous said...

How about this:

"Found: Wedding ring without the diamond."

I confess it is no match for Hemingway. But it is an original MikeB.

-- MikeB