The Forbidden Planet International Blog Log

Boing Boing drew my attention to this article in Wired, where they took Hemmingway (not my favourite writer) and his creation of a story using six words and asked a bunch of SF & F,fantasy, horror, comics writers and other figures to do the same:

Gown removed carelessly. Head, less so.
- Joss Whedon

Automobile warranty expires. So does engine.
- Stan Lee

Machine. Unexpectedly, I’d invented a time
- Alan Moore

Internet “wakes up?” Ridicu -
no carrier.
- Charles Stross

We kissed. She melted. Mop please!
- James Patrick Kelly

And a whole bunch more including William Shatner, Margaret Atwood, Rockne S O’Bannon, Stephen Baxter, Neil Gaiman, Michael Moorcock and more. If brevity is truly the soul of wit then this is the essence of charm. And here’s an off-the-cuff attempt from me (be gentle, it is nearly the end of the day):

Swam the Channel. Cold. Changed channel.

or

Caught Sarah’s eye. Yuck. Returned it.

or

Recycled exclamation marks for Stan Lee

or

Danced on edge of time. Carefully.

or

Turned the page; the world changed.

Okay, I’ll stop now…