And If You Believe That, I've Got Some Baby Shoes I'd Like To Sell You...

I’m making my post short and late today. My sincerest apologies, but I’ve been at the party over at Beyond Her Books, enjoying the rowdy camaraderie there. Lots of readers and writers and revelers who just love to celebrate good books, an interesting blog, and great fun. Tomorrow me and the girls from FR might be making a Fierce appearance, so be sure to drop in and leave a comment. You might win a prize, or, even better, see a hunk. :)

I’m heading back with my best dancing shoes on here in a minute, but I wanted to first throw out a bit of a challenge, if anyone is interested.

I love flash fiction. I like the idea of making a story out of the fewest words possible, probably because I’m one of the wordiest people in the universe. However, to put it bluntly, I stink at it. I’d fail my own challenge, which is why I’m putting it out there for readers. I certainly can’t do it. lol

Hemingway, whose writing I have grown to appreciate over the years (The guy’s guy! The man’s man!), has been rumored to have written the following “short” story…

For sale: baby shoes, never worn.

Wow. So much said there but with only six words and a few punctuation marks. Immediately, questions pop into the reader’s head. Why not worn? What happened to the baby? Was there a terrible tragedy or did the parents simply have so much wealth they had too many shoes for their child? Or maybe the baby outgrew the shoes before it could wear them—maybe it was a mutant radioactive baby from planet Zweron! Who knows?

We don’t. We’re left to speculate, and thus, we’d read on. We want to know more. That’s the heart of true story-telling, enticing the reader. “Come join us,” say the characters. “Come be a part of our world and share our joy/misery.”

Can you do it? Can you write a story in six words? Won’t you give it a try? I’d love to see some when I pop back over after I play pin my lips on the Antonio Banderas look-alike cover art model. lol

Happy Reading!