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.