To Make a Long Story Short

I’ve made mention before in this space of novelist S.J. Rozan’s Six-Word Stories competition (see here and here), as I really like the idea. Following on a challenge Ernest Hemingway supposedly took--to write a complete story in just half a dozen words (his entry: “For sale: baby shoes, never worn.”)--Rozan has asked crime writers and enthusiasts in the genre to compose their own six-word tales. Some of the latest winners:

• “Divorce? Never!” “Well ... ‘almond’ cookie, then?”--Merlot
• “The perfect murder. Oh, no: Poirot.”--Joseph Wallace
• “Love ... marriage ... jealousy ... rage ... murder. Remorse.”--B.G. Ritts
• “Crap! I shot the wrong twin!”--Gerald So

S.J. was even kind enough to post a submission from yours truly, not that I in any way fancy myself as economical with words as Papa could be (though I did accomplish this in five words, not six):

“Amateur marksman. Professional asshole. Bullseye.”

To read more of these six-word stories, click here. And if you’d like to take the challenge yourself, e-mail your submission to: sixwordstory@aol.com.

Now, far be it from me to suggest that the London Guardian got this idea from Rozan, but the paper recently asked notable novelists to send in their own six-word yarns. Several of the best come from crime-fictionists:

• “It can’t be. I’m a virgin.”--Kate Atkinson (One Good Turn)
• “Set sail, great storm, all lost.”--John Banville (aka Benjamin Black, Christine Falls)
• “Bob’s last message: Bermuda Triangle, Baloney.”--Elmore Leonard (Up in Honey’s Room)
• “Humorous book: critic died laughing. Sued.”--Alexander McCall Smith (The Good Husband of Zebra Drive)

Read all of the Guardian entries here.

(Hat tip to Campaign for the American Reader.)