I want to respond to all of the posts below from those who've responded to my "What do we owe the readers?" question, because I've still got more to say about it, especially about the fact that so few weighed in on my following question, "What do we specifically not owe the readers?" which granted could be just a touch incendiary, depending on the responses, so I don't really blame the others for not jumping on that grenade.
But all of that will have to wait because it's time, as promised, for our six word stories, and here's what we found out: Six word stories are fun. Before this I thought comic book writing left no room for wasted words and run-on scenes, but I was wrong. Now I see that comics are positively fat with room for leisurely prose, for slow and deliberate character development, for almost glacial building of plot and tension. The six word story is where the really terse and bare bones writing is done these days.
But it seems even this isn't the acme of the short story. As you'll see below the new guy, Daryl, thought that was one word too many -- that the six worders contained too much room to ramble on. Or maybe he just thought he could show us up again. Regardless, we now present a selection of six word stories (and one five word story) for your enjoyment.
Chris Roberson
Librarian of Alexandria seeks overdue books.
Matthew Sturges
1) A stitch in time saves Lincoln.
2) We're all dead? Good. Let's eat.
3) The universe ended this morning. Again.
4) THIS virus, however, is totally safe.
5) I ate her brain. She reciprocated.
6) No, the aliens ARE the ocean!
7) Dad: fangs. Me: stake. Oedipus: schadenfreude.
Marc Andreyko
1) they married. he died. she's rich.
2) the asylum doors broke open. crap.
3) the diagnosis was bad. he partied.
4) satan: "So?" walter: "It's a deal."
Paul Cornell
"It's my vagina, my dear Watson."
Bill Williams
The ball bounced. I leapt. Score.
Daryl Gregory
"Daylight savings," Van Helsing answered.
Marjorie M Liu
1) I only have eggs for you.
2) Never date Amish vampires. No bite.
Mark Finn
1) Sports fisherman accidentally kills Moby Dick.
2) Slot machine of Dorian Gray malfunctions.
3) Sam Bowen becomes Godfather of Chinatown.
4) Clockwork Storybook expands. Publishing world contracts.
5) Disgruntled elf sleighs Santa. Christmas sucks.
6) Sex therapist's new hobby turns deadly.
7) Biographer rewrites his own life story.
8) Ambrosia unknowingly served at convenience store.
Bill Willingham
Traditional Horror: "What curse? I can't read hieroglyphs."
Modern Horror: Chop! Chop! Chop! Stab! Stab! Stab!
Fantasy: Dark Lord missing. Final battle postponed.
Sword and Sorcery: He came. He saw. He cleaved.
Traditional Romance: "It's not love. It's something more."
Modern Romance: "It's not love. It's something less."
Western: The outlaw drew first, but missed.
Mystery: The butler didn't do it. Yet.
Traditional Lit: Scoured the moors, but she'd departed.
Modern Lit: Suffering ennui, he ended the affair.
Science Fiction: Fleet never surfaced. Hyperspace is fickle.
Historical: Albinus stepped hesitant into the Rubicon.
War: Zulus attacked in waves. "Volley fire!"
Adventure: "One chance! See that rooftop? Jump!"
Children's: Itsy bitsy bug, needs a hug.
