Well, that title sums this up pretty effectively. I was going to post another Poem Of The Day, but I suddenly remembered this short story. Short is probably a bit of an understatement. It’s six words long… And anyone who knows anything about writing will have suddenly realised which story I’m talking about (probably).

Hemingway was good. Very good. His short stories were especially good, because he managed to put such depth into so few words. This six word story, which has inspired many to try their hand at writing their own story in 6, says so much by saying so little. No six word story I’ve read has measured up to this one, yet. People have gone with: “Mistook grenade for cigarette lighter. Smoked”, or “Wax wings, high hopes, long fall” (which is actually a lot better than most of the others), but still, they’ve got nothing on The Hemingway. (Oh, and thanks to www.sixwordstories.net for unknowingly lending me these examples.)

Hemingway, apparently, wrote this as a bet. His collegues told him he’d never be able to write a short story in just six words. He did. He’s said to have considered this his best piece of work. I think I agree.

So, without further ado, here is the famous short short story:

For Sale: baby shoes, never used.