Thursday, February 16, 2012

An Oldie but a Goodie!


I've been writing a lot lately about creativity, so I thought I would repost an entry from nearly two years ago.  It's a writing exercise that will help challenge your brain as well as being a lot of fun. 

So here is a post worth repeating; originally posted on March 29, 2010.  Enjoy!

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. I wonder what Papa Hemingway would say? But for what it's worth, here's what I came up with:

Bankrupted woman seeks gun factory employment.

What do you think of my 6-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:

Leah Griffith said...

Removing his wedding ring; he wept.

This was way tougher than it sounded. Fun!

Debbie Lamedman said...

Thanks Leah! I like your story...so sad. And yes, it is tougher than it sounds!

James said...

Writer skillfully acknowledges genius through story.

What do you think? ;-)

Doyle said...

Counting cards, he thrived in Vegas!

Kathryn said...

Counting the days until the divorce.

Hmmm...there is so much more I want to say, but I only have 6 words!

This was not an easy exercise; thanks for the challenge Debbie!

Jess said...

Checking my inbox; it's empty...again.

Does that work?

MikeB said...

This was a challenge. NOTHING came to me yesterday when I read this post. Today, I opened your blog again, and immediately thought of:

I loved you; then you left.

MikeB said...

She touched me; I gave in.

MikeB said...

My corvette's been everywhere, including hell.