I used the exercise in my Community College class to help students focus in on the bare-bare bones of their stories.

There continues to be discussion on the Internet about six-word stories. Last week, colleague Karen Dietz (curator of JustStoryIt) posted a link to an article by Paul Smith, author of Lead With A Story. He posted in response to a challenge to business people to create six-word stories. Few of them succeeded. Read his post here, Then return to this page and try to create your own six-word story.

Remember, a "story" is not just a list or report of "events", like,
---The Queen died. The King died.
There needs to be some sort of emotional connection and/or a reason for the turn of events. Don't just tell us WHAT happened, show us WHY it happened.
--- Queen died. King died, broken hearted.

Here is one Karen Dietz suggested:
---Played golf. Boss won. Kept job.

Create your own six-word story - enter the contest!

Post your six-word story below, in the comment section, or E-mail them to me. Next week, I will post the entries and pick one that I believe is the "best." Based purely on my subjective observation and feelings - decision of the judge (me) is final!

The winner gets a free copy of my new book Storytelling Tips: Creating, Crafting and Telling Stories from Parkhust Brothers. (If you already have a copy, you can designate a recipient.)

Please submit only ONE story per person. Entries must be submitted by MIDNIGHT, Friday, November 15, 2014.