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Wired's Very Short Stories

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the dragons-eye-opened-the-hafling-wept-michael-zenke dept.

Wired's games blog Game|Life alerted me to a great feature on the main Wired site. Called Very Short Stories, the piece features the work of 33 well-known writers practicing their craft in six word chunks. Their work is combined with several talented graphic designers to generate some very creative works of art. Some of my favorites: "The baby's blood type? Human, mostly'. - Orson Scott Card
'Lie detector eyeglasses perfected: Civilization collapses.' - Richard Powers
'Kirby had never eaten toes before.' - Kevin Smith" The games blog makes a point to highlight the works of game writers Mark Laidlaw and Steve Meretzky. Laidlaw's contribution: ">Help! Trapped in a text adventure!" Alrighty, folks ... let's hear yours.

67 of 665 comments (clear)

  1. I don't get it. by dada21 · · Score: 5, Funny

    Not much to read, is there?

    1. Re:I don't get it. by euniana · · Score: 5, Interesting

      Make verbose writers toil for brevity.

      --
      stillwaters: silent and reticent
    2. Re:I don't get it. by hattig · · Score: 3, Funny

      Someone point Terry Goodkind at this.
      Christnuggets on a stick, that man!
      He doesn't know when to stop.
      Until the readers care no more.

    3. Re:I don't get it. by VRisaMetaphor · · Score: 5, Funny
      Heaven falls. Details at eleven.
      -- Robert Jordan

      Fucker can't even finish a 6 word story. Guess we'll have to buy the sequel....
    4. Re:I don't get it. by Cylix · · Score: 4, Funny

      I wish I had mod points.

      --
      "You should always go to other people's funerals; otherwise, they won't come to yours." -- Yogi Berra
    5. Re:I don't get it. by cammoblammo · · Score: 4, Funny

      None.

      Oh crap...

      --

      Cogito, ergo sig.

    6. Re:I don't get it. by Propaganda13 · · Score: 3, Interesting

      It's really simple, you just have to write

      The Beginning. The Middle. The End.

      and there you've got the whole story.

      I was surprised that some of those stories are really good.

    7. Re:I don't get it. by antek9 · · Score: 3, Funny

      I've got six words for you: YHBTYL.

      Have a nice day.

      Besides, I know someone who won't even touch six words with a ten-feet pole and came up with two even shorter stories - one consisting of 4, another one consisting of five words - that became instant classics in world literature (well, oral culture, that is):

      Story #1: Developers. DeVElopers. DeVELOPERS! DEVELOPERS!!
      Story #2: I. Love. This. Company. YEEEEE-HAAHH!!!

      The best part is: both have already been turned into movies.

      --
      A World in a Grain of Sand / Heaven in a Wild Flower,
      Infinity in the Palm of your Hand / And Eternity in an Hour.
    8. Re:I don't get it. by WilliamSChips · · Score: 3, Funny

      I think you mean:
      The lameness filter is the lamest.

      --
      Please, for the good of Humanity, vote Obama.
  2. Ahem by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    In Russia, short stories write you!

  3. hm.. by bigattichouse · · Score: 5, Funny

    Slashdot news for nerds, doesn't matter

    --
    meh
    1. Re:hm.. by Rob+the+Bold · · Score: 4, Funny

      Who modded this "Troll"? Humorless dolt.

      --
      I am not a crackpot.
  4. Oh god. by tool462 · · Score: 4, Funny

    This will be awful.

  5. Mine's an autobiography! by TheFlyingGoat · · Score: 5, Funny

    Poo flung about in every direction.

    --
    You have enemies? Good. That means you've stood up for something, sometime in your life. --Winston Churchill
    1. Re:Mine's an autobiography! by sharkey · · Score: 5, Funny

      Jack? Jack Thompson, is that you?

      --

      --
      "Outlook not so good." That magic 8-ball knows everything! I'll ask about Exchange Server next.
  6. My 2 cents by armydillo2025 · · Score: 5, Interesting

    He was born, lived and died.

  7. Yawn. by Mr.+Samuel · · Score: 3, Funny

    Read this thread, should study instead.

  8. Going to jail for that... by Jah-Wren+Ryel · · Score: 5, Funny

    I hope slashdot has got heaping big bags of money. Because you just copied the entire content of four copyrighted works onto the front page of a commercial, for profit website - ain't no way you can hide behind the fair use defense on this one.

    At $250,000 per violation, that will be One MILLION DOLLARS!

    I'll be happy to accept the fine as proxy for Wired. Just to make things go smoothly, you understand, right?

    --
    When information is power, privacy is freedom.
    1. Re:Going to jail for that... by Cocoronixx · · Score: 5, Funny

      Hrm... how about:

      Impeachment: It's not just for blowjobs.

      --
      "Obscenity is the crutch of the inarticulate motherfucker." - cloak42
    2. Re:Going to jail for that... by elsilver · · Score: 4, Funny
      Well, you see, under fair-use, they intended to only quote a portion, but none of:
      "The baby's",
      "The baby's blood",
      "The baby's blood type?", or
      "The baby's blood type? Human",
      convey the brilliance which exists in the flow and structure of the whole story.

      Also, they considered just quoting "The", but were afraid you'd confuse it an exceprt from another story by another author.

      I suppose the closest you'd get, would be to quote "The baby...Human, mostly.", but that kinda ruins it by giving the ending away.

      E.

  9. Sure by dedazo · · Score: 4, Funny

    Natalie Portman? In hot grits... please.

    --
    Web2.0: I love when people Flickr my cuil and digg my boingboing until my google is reddit and I start to yahoo
  10. and the sixth word is by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    whoosh!

    1. Re:and the sixth word is by strider44 · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Not all Anonymous Cowards have humour

    2. Re:and the sixth word is by nacturation · · Score: 3, Funny

      First post. Mod minus one redundant.

      --
      Want to improve your Karma? Instead of "Post Anonymously", try the "Post Humously" option.
  11. It is really not that interesting by jpardey · · Score: 4, Funny

    Six words to show skill? Please.

    --
    I have freaks! I did something right...
    1. Re:It is really not that interesting by Professor_UNIX · · Score: 4, Funny

      Not just for bumper stickers anymore.

  12. 6w by hernick · · Score: 5, Funny

    Earth invaded, saved; heroine gets laid.

    1. Re:6w by arth1 · · Score: 5, Interesting

      Beautiful day. Evil comes. Bangor, Maine.

      Wait, that one has been done before. Let me try again.

      Protagonist and young tease conquer villain.

      Drats, someone wrote that one too. Hmm, I better be original then:

      Loss. Emptiness. Poignant cry: Future, why?

      Regards,
      --
      *Art

  13. Only 6? by RichardDeVries · · Score: 5, Funny

    Unfortunately counting is difficult for some people.

    --
    Error 001
    Security Scan and Virus Detection do not work with your operating system.
  14. And thanks for all the fish by cybrpnk2 · · Score: 5, Funny

    Big bang, little strings, forty two.

  15. 6w2 by hernick · · Score: 3, Funny

    Writing contest: Beowulf defeats million simians.

  16. My son and I have been doing these... by jezor · · Score: 5, Funny

    Here's my first offering:

    The cow spoke.

    I went vegetarian. {Prof. Jonathan}

  17. Umm by Kazymyr · · Score: 3, Funny

    Six words is not enough space.

    --
    I hadn't known there were so many idiots in the world until I started using the Internet -Stanislaw Lem
    1. Re:Umm by chgros · · Score: 4, Funny

      Six words is enough for anybody

  18. ew by Parrot+and+Duck · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Mario loved Peach, but fancied Luigi.

  19. battle cry of the internet age by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    posters lament "too long, didn't read!".

  20. Ugh... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    Move along, nothing to see here.

  21. Ummmmm.... by ACK!! · · Score: 4, Interesting

    The fat penguins ate them all.

    --
    ACK /ak/ interj. 2. [from the comic strip "Bloom County"] An exclamation of surprised disgust, esp. i
  22. This Post... by MBCook · · Score: 4, Funny

    This post is just 6 words long.

    --
    Comment forecast: Bits of genius surrounded by a sea of mediocrity.
  23. This should be obvious... by katdogken · · Score: 5, Funny

    "Red pill or blue? Why compromise?"

  24. mine by Ars-Gonzo · · Score: 3, Funny

    Hunting for sport. No, wait. Hunt-ED!

  25. Good... by RyanFenton · · Score: 5, Funny

    Haikus are too long. I'm happy.

    Ryan Fenton

  26. Won the lottery by dptalia · · Score: 4, Funny

    drank it all.

    --
    Genius is one percent inspiration and 99 percent perspiration, which is why engineers sometimes smell really bad.
  27. Failure to meet criteria. by gus+goose · · Score: 4, Funny

    Writer's Block. Shit! Can't do this.

    gus

    --
    .. if only.
  28. Re:Here goes by iqeaten · · Score: 4, Funny

    installed vista successfully (famous last words)

  29. She was dead; it mattered not. by zokrath · · Score: 4, Funny

    She was dead; it mattered not.

  30. Can't Count by Shky · · Score: 4, Funny

    How many words have I left?

    --
    CC Licensed Serialized Story and Podcast: Ingenioustries
  31. The best one... by Tyler+Durden · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Below is a fairly famous short short story I heard a few times. It gives me chills every time I think about it...

    "In the room was the last person on Earth. Suddenly, there was a knock at the door."

    --
    Happy people make bad consumers.
    1. Re:The best one... by Cylix · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Or...

      Last man alive, someone just knocked.

      --
      "You should always go to other people's funerals; otherwise, they won't come to yours." -- Yogi Berra
  32. One more word? by Kadin2048 · · Score: 5, Funny

    I, for one, welcome our ... damn.

    --
    "Ladies and gentlemen, my killbot features Lotus Notes and a machine gun. It is the finest available."
    1. Re:One more word? by Isotopian · · Score: 5, Funny

      In Soviet Russia, damn welcomes you!

      --

      It's poetry with a beat behind it! And guns! They're like beatniks with automatic weapons.

    2. Re:One more word? by antek9 · · Score: 5, Funny

      Main screen turn on. It's you!!

      --
      A World in a Grain of Sand / Heaven in a Wild Flower,
      Infinity in the Palm of your Hand / And Eternity in an Hour.
  33. Essence of Slashdot by Bender0x7D1 · · Score: 3, Funny

    I didn't RTFA.

    --
    Reading code is like reading the dictionary - you have to read half of it before you can go back and understand it.
  34. A story weirdly inappropriate for slashdot by patio11 · · Score: 5, Interesting

    She took my ring, said yes.

    --
    Help poke pirates in the eyepatch, arr.
  35. Panama by Nefarious+Wheel · · Score: 4, Funny

    A man, a plan, bloody palindromes.

    --
    Do not mock my vision of impractical footwear
  36. my attempt by istewart · · Score: 3, Funny

    Borg versus goatse, hivemind dies horribly.

  37. Oh shit... by hords · · Score: 5, Funny

    Mod Funny to avoid poo attack

  38. So that's why! by hords · · Score: 4, Funny

    All your base belongs to us.

  39. Finally the secret recipe to making money. by MikeFM · · Score: 4, Funny

    Short attention spans? Short stories. Profit!

    --
    At what price learning? At what cost wisdom? The price is a man's peace of mind, and the cost is his life.
  40. Impossible Mission by hords · · Score: 4, Funny

    Another visitor.... stay awhile, stay fooorevvverrr!

  41. Nothing happens for most of book by Dorceon · · Score: 4, Funny

    Surprise! Someone kidnapped on last page.

    --
    What sound do people on rollercoasters make? Hint: it's not Xbox 360.
  42. obligatory entry by ecloud · · Score: 3, Funny

    'Twas a dark and stormy night.

  43. Re:Computer broken by fbartho · · Score: 3, Funny
    ti revo evirD nekorb retupmoc swodniW


    No use, Still can't be understood.
    --
    Gravity Sucks
  44. Seinfield? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

    In the beginning... yadayada... the end.

  45. Easier in German! by Psychochild · · Score: 4, Funny

    This task is easier with Germancompoundnouns.

    Sorry, just got back from a beginner's German class. ;)

    --
    Brian "Psychochild" Green
    MMO developer's blog
  46. Cannibal says by quantaman · · Score: 3, Funny

    Will work for food.

    --
    I stole this Sig
  47. My turn by DrSbaitso · · Score: 3, Funny

    Six word haiku? Ok.
    Disintermediation
    Xenophobia.

    --
    beware the jabberwock, my son! the jaws that bite, the claws that catch!