Six Words or Less

You came back! That’s awesome. Thanks so much.

I want to revisit something I mentioned in my last post, about saying so much with so little. In a way, a good poem is like a TARDIS - so much bigger on the inside! I think the point of poetry is to be succinct with your words in order to glean as much expression from them as possible. Those who speak the least sometimes say the most. This is why I admire poetry for what it is - the very best, the very favorite of those authors’ words, put together in a way that says more than what’s on the paper.

There are so many feelings attached to words, and they can mean a variety of things for different people. A piece about a rainy day may sound depressing or dull, but it may remind someone of a kiss in the rain, or the triumph of having weathered a storm. Finding the perfect word that can convey anything to anyone is the genius of the poet.

One day as I walked into Professor Fanning’s class in 2008, there were a few lines written on the board. “For sale: baby shoes. Never worn.” It is attributed to Hemingway, according to the legend of him having won a bet, writing a story in six words or less. I think this story represents the point I make. How much floods into your head when you read this? How many feels does your heart clench in its fist as you swallow back the instant lump in your throat? As a mother then, and the mother of a new one now, it struck me to my core. Two and a half sentences, and I already felt a connection to this piece. THAT is effective writing. Two and a half sentences and it already had a beginning, middle and end. THAT is good.

So the lesson was to write a short story in as few words as possible. This is a popular exercise for writers and can be a useful way to free write. It’s a great way to hone your editing skills, as well. Many of the themes were the same: the climax (not necessarily literal!) of true love, the happily ever after, the changing of one’s mind and irreversible decisions, broken hearts or death. These are some major emotional traumas, people. These are some huge plot lines that, if given the time, effort, ink and paper, these could be novels of infinite pages. But there we were, summing up the future classics in an average of six words or less.

What can you say in six words or less? Think of it this way: if you had six words left to say in the entire Universe, for the rest of your life, what would those six words be? Would they be the names of your loved ones? Would you say goodbye, give instruction, vent, tell a secret? I leave you with this challenge. Think on it, and please feel free to leave those words in a comment if you’d like to share!