The legend goes like this. Somebody once challenged Ernest Hemingway to tell a whole story in six words. He replied: “For sale: baby shoes. Never used.”

Other writers were challenged to do the same. Witness replies to this 2003 contest:

John Updike: “Forgive me!” “What for?” “Never mind.”

Tobias Wolff: “She gave. He took. He forgot.”

Michael Cunningham: “My nemesis is dead. Now what?”

And our own staff favorite, from Norman Mailer: “Satan – Jehovah – 15 rounds. A draw.”

Go.

A.