Six Word Stories and Other Flash Fiction

Not much is known about the history of six word stories, a literary form that has only cropped up recently in the global literature community. What we do know is that the first and original six word story was written by novelist Ernest Hemingway, a six word story that many of you have already heard of:


It was not until November 2006, inspired by Hemingway's efforts, that Larry Smith made a challenge to anyone online to describe their life in six words for Smith Magazine, effectively making a 'Six Word Memoir'. From just this spark, the form of the six word story grew in popularity and success, evident in the publication of many editions containing these stories by Smith. It has since been used as a tool to express oneself, carrying many implications from educational use to therapeutic use.

Some awesome examples are illustrated below:


Sites with six word stories: Wired | Six Word Story Everyday | Six Word Stories

While others have their own definitions of what a six word story entails, it is a form of micro fiction in which fiction is made brief purposefully. What is micro fiction? Micro fiction can be found under the umbrella of Flash Fiction, though there are subtle differences between each. Usually 1000 words is the limit for a flash fiction piece, with six words (six word stories), twenty-five words (hint fiction), one hundred words (micro fiction), five hundred words being some of the more popular types of flash fiction around.

Though short, flash fiction should include the classic elements that make up a story, for example a protagonist, a conflict of a sort and a resolution at the end. Because of the brevity and the restriction of how many words can be used, some of these elements are implied so that readers are required to read 'in between the lines'.

This applies to micro fiction as well, but as micro fiction is typically 100 words or less, it gets to the core of the matter faster, leaving no room for flourishes though you may expect a bit of it in a typical flash fiction piece.

thorns elaborates upon this, stating that...

Since the word count is restrictive, an obvious necessary approach is choosing words carefully. With less to read, each word must carry more weight. The connotation and tone between synonyms vary. Each one is an opportunity to set the tone and imply another portion of the setting, or conflict, or character depth.

We can use "grab" as an example. "Snatch" and "confiscate" are both synonyms but have vastly different connotation. Snatch might conjure up images of a quick grab, or even stealing. The shady pickpocket may snatch your wallet. Confiscate may conjure images of a more leisurely grab, and it can imply a structured setting or someone with power. A teacher, police officer, or parent may confiscate your contraband.

Another approach is reducing the micro fiction story focus even more than in flash fiction. It's difficult to immerse the reader in a massive battle with a handful of words. Usually it comes out vague, and the reader has no reason to care. By reducing the focus to single aspect or angle the author can catch and engage the reader. Instead of cramming in the protagonist, his five brothers, his love of apples, the girlfriend waiting for him, and the ten reasons he wants to murder the bad guy, authors give us the one portion, or even a single moment, that will impact the reader.

Micro fiction sometimes relies more heavily on common knowledge as well. If the story mentions the Titanic it conjures images of the giant sinking ship with that single word. The author can create a setting, character, conflict, etc, by using common knowledge and expand their story while still meeting the word constraints. In micro fiction, this approach is only as effective as the reader's common knowledge. In flash fiction, the author will have a few words available to expand on the reference for those who have never heard of it.

Another difference between the two may be that micro fiction is typically held to be a web phenomenon in the sense that the fictional piece adapts itself to the nature of the screen where no scrolling is needed. With micro fiction belonging more to the web than flash fiction, styling and formatting are made more significant with further emphasis placed on the presentation of such a story to carry the effect and context across to the reader when there are not enough words to do so. This website is a great resource in illustrating it further.

One can compare micro fiction to that of Edgar Allen Poe who is credited as the creator of the short story form. The short story, 3000-5000 words usually, meant that fiction wasn't the length of a novel from beginning to end. As a result, short stories were regularly found in magazines that were popular back in the day (the 1800s or so). With more of us using technology and the internet, the journey of micro fiction is similar to that of the short story.

As more and more of us use social networking as a form of communication, the time for flash fiction feels just right. Social networks like Twitter encourage the micro fiction form with the limit of the characters we can type in. Not only is it easier and simpler to read, getting to the meat of the matter can be made more straight-forward too.