Six-word stories

Ernest Hemingway once said his best work was a story he wrote in just six words: "For sale: baby shoes, never worn." The Guardian challenged some contemporary authors to be equally economical.

A few of the responses:

"It can't be. I'm a virgin."
Kate Atkinson

Set sail, great storm, all lost.
John Banville

Juicy offer. Must decline. Still paralysed.
Richard Ford

Bob's last message: Bermuda Triangle, Baloney.
Elmore Leonard

Read more responses.

Blackbook magazine conducted the same exercise a few years ago. Pete Anderson reprinted a few of the entries, including Norman Mailer's: "Satan--Jehovah--fifteen rounds. A draw."

Pete Anderson's six-word story: "Aging skier goes downhill. Literally, figuratively."

I'll offer an old joke (not my own creation): "Redneck's famous last words: 'watch this!'"

--Marshal Zeringue