87. SIX-WORD STORY (Writing, Discussion)
Description: This protocol is loosely based on the urban legend in which Ernest Hemingway’s colleagues bet him that he could not write a story in only six words. He won the bet with the following: “For sale: Baby shoes, never worn.”
Application: Use in language arts or social studies courses.
Process: Go to the Internet, peruse the “six-word story” websites, and select a few as examples. On class day, retell the Hemingway story and provide that story as well as other six-word story examples. Have a topic in mind. Provide minimum guidance, but (according to Narrativemagazine.com) the story “should provide a movement of conflict, action, and resolution that gives the sense of a complete story transpiring in a moment’s reading.”
Consider a variation of this protocol by giving students a picture/graphic/artwork and prompt them to create a six-word story based on it. Allow time for sharing and discussion.
Description: This protocol is loosely based on the urban legend in which Ernest Hemingway’s colleagues bet him that he could not write a story in only six words. He won the bet with the following: “For sale: Baby shoes, never worn.”
Application: Use in language arts or social studies courses.
Process: Go to the Internet, peruse the “six-word story” websites, and select a few as examples. On class day, retell the Hemingway story and provide that story as well as other six-word story examples. Have a topic in mind. Provide minimum guidance, but (according to Narrativemagazine.com) the story “should provide a movement of conflict, action, and resolution that gives the sense of a complete story transpiring in a moment’s reading.”
Consider a variation of this protocol by giving students a picture/graphic/artwork and prompt them to create a six-word story based on it. Allow time for sharing and discussion.
Reference, graphics, and/or for more information:
87. Six-Word Story
www.narrativemagazine.com/sixwords
87. Six-Word Story
www.narrativemagazine.com/sixwords