March Slice of Life No. 5.
Tell a story in six words, that’s the task.
The earth moved, but we stayed.
–I wrote this in 2016 after a 7.8 earthquake struck my son’s city in Ecuador. {Notice the juxtaposition. See my tips below.}
April 2016
He yawned, stretched, and walked away.
–I wrote this one in my head before I got out of bed this morning.
What is a six-word story?
I once read that a six-word story is a drama in one breath. It think that is the best definition. {Sorry, I don’t recall the source.}
Want to write a six-word story?
Here are a few things I’ve learned:
- 1. A six-word story is a story, a narrative.
- 2. Think story elements: characters, setting, plot, conflict, resolution. Can you identify any of these elements in your six words?
- 3. Play with your words and choose them carefully. It must be both concise and precise, and at the same time, it should have broad inference boundaries. Think of the six-words as a universal narrative, capable of evoking many different tales.
- 4. Use the reduction techniques that writers use to combine ideas (clauses and sentences), e.g., reducing a clause to a participle. {I share about these techniques in my writing workshops. Perhaps I will share a post another day. If you are interested, tell me so in the comments.}
- 5. Do your six words evoke emotion? Are there hidden (implied) details?
- 6. Use juxtaposition. This often creates a twist, making the story more interesting. For example, “I awoke dressed for my funeral.” Awoke. Funeral. {Can’t remember where I heard this six-word story.} Another example: “He said the lion was friendly.”
- 7. One of the things that makes six-word stories so intriguing is that the reader immediately imagines a story based on six words. If you use a prompt (photo or story) to get your story ideas moving, do not share the prompt with your final six-word story. The prompt will create inference boundaries for your readers.
Do you have a tip about writing six-word stories? Please share it in the comments below.
What is the origin of six-word stories?
I did a bit of searching {I can hardly call it research} to learn more about the history of six-word stories.
Some say that Hemingway once wrote a story in just six words (“For sale: baby shoes, never worn.”) and that he called it his best work. However, from what I’ve read, I think this is most likely a legend. The following two newspaper clippings were part of the evidence cited to discount this anecdote.
of a Tucson newspaper, 1945 (Snopes)
So, though I learned some interesting information, I didn’t really find the answer to my question. And I wasn’t interested enough to search further.
Would you like your students to write six-word stories?
- Here’s a practical how-to from Ms. DiGiorgio, a high school teacher.
Think about incorporating multimedia!
- Steps in Literacy Journeys shares a six word story in a video. {Worth watching.}
- If you like the idea of using multimedia {I see so much potential here}, then check out Don Goble’s Six-Word Story, Six Unique Shots on iTunes. It’s free.
- And when you have time, you should read this Don Goble interview by Laura and Matt Grundler at EducationCloset
Want more examples?
- Just do an internet search for “six-word stories” . . . the links will seem endless.
- Yesterday I wrote a few six-word stories in my slice “Six Words” and other slicers share more in the comments.
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Thank you to
Two Writing Teachers
I love this idea. I had heard it before, but how powerful! I want to do this with my students!
It really does make them practice their crafting skills. And they love the idea of only six words, especially your reluctant writers.
Although a six word story looks like an easy write, after all it is only six words, I think it is one of the most difficult to do for all of the reasons you stated. Word choice is so important.
Six words doesn’t see so daunting to students and it does require application of writing skills to craft it. You are right about them seeming to be easy, but taking some hard work.
I love your own examples at the top of the page and the explanation, tips and links are great.
Thank you, Lisa!
Thank you for all the explanation, history and links. I really like the idea of the multimedia links – I, too, see a lot of potential here. Hmmm…. ideas are brewing…
I knew you’d like it! I hope you do it with your students and post some in a slice, either in March or on our Tuesdays.
Thanks for the idea. I hadn’t heard of these short stories. Now I wonder if at third grade children might be more engaged in identifying parts of speech in these 6 word stories than the lessons we’ve used in the past.
You are so welcome. I know that students will often get pulled into the writing because it’s only six words.
I love this slice and the idea of 6-word stories. They are something I’ve never really played around with. Your tips for writing these remind me a bit of poetry writing–such careful word selection and placement to intensify the impact. Small and powerful, like haiku. Thanks for a great slice–I also popped over to enjoy yesterday’s as well–and an idea for a future post. I suspect I’ll have potential 6 word stories running through my head all day long.
You are so right about the writing of 6 word stories being similar to writing poetry. I hadn’t thought about that. These are one of my “small writings” — writings that are small units that give lots of genuine practice crafting and applying language knowledge. Their smallness makes them less daunting, though I doubt they are easier to write.