Six-Word Short Stories With Edward Hopper

I am not a fan of short stories. Too long to read in one sitting (for me anyway), too short to make any lasting mark on my psyche. I haven't read any short stories - at least none come to mind -  so I am aware just how unfair my judgment of short stories is. But I've never eaten cauliflower either and I have no doubt that it's as awful as it looks and smells. Sorry, no fistful of melted Velveeta can save that foul-looking vegetable. But I digress.

I am also not big on the author Ernest Hemingway, though I think I should be. I know I read The Old Man and the Sea in high school but all I can remember is an old man (presumably Ernest), a fish, and a rowboat. Regarded as one of the two or three greatest American writers, Papa (as he liked to be called) pioneered literary minimalism, never meeting a florid adjective he couldn't ignore (such as florid).  

Dead now more than 50 years ago, Ernest Hemingway is also remembered for writing the shortest short story in the English (or any other) language.

For sale: baby shoes, never worn.



Six words, that's it. Like a painting, the reader is left to his or her own interpretation and imagination. Is it a tragedy? Is it a comedy? Or is it nothing, perhaps something Ernest stumbled upon at a garage sale? No wrong answers.

Of course, unbeknownst to Hemingway (legend has it that he was challenged to write such a short short story), the Six-Word Short Story as a literary form has taken on a life of its own. Six-Word compilations have been published recently, including submissions from the known and obscure alike. I even tried my hand at this writing form:

The body bag twitched with life.



Creepy, I know. Though I have no love for short stories or the novels of Ernest Hemingway, I am a huge admirer of the paintings of the American artist Edward Hopper. There is a lonesome, somber quality to most of his work - mute testaments to untold stories lurking within each canvas.

So, perhaps because I have writer's block - or maybe just for fun - here are 15 of Hopper's works transformed into Six-Word Short Stories by yours truly:

Took the bastard for every cent.

He doesn't even know I'm alive.

I wish they would shut up.

I should have stolen his wallet.



What do we have to lose?

I hope the windows come soon.

I still can't sleep without her.

Now I'll never be a mother.

He pretended to be asleep, again.

Act naturally and they'll never know.

Answering phones and fetching coffee. Ridiculous.

They both knew it was over.

I'm almost certain I said 7:30.

That was the strangest funeral ever.

Hello, over here! Your husband, remember?

Without being consciously aware of it, we all write numerous Six-Word Short Stories everyday. In our interactions, daily observations, and private musings. Oh sure, not all are six words - some shorter, some longer - but if we pressed play and record at the beginning of each day just think of the stories we all tell:

Coffee-starved man hits the "publish" icon.