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JASON BOOG

Articles Posted: 12 Links Seeded: 28

Member Since: 10/2006 Last Seen: 9/02/2008

Join the Six-Word Science Fiction Story Vine!!!!!

Fri Oct 27, 2006 1:48 PM EDT

odd-news, writing, publishing, artsvine, science-fiction

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I've been writing a lot about six-word science fiction stories on my publishing site this week.

You see, Wired magazine hired a few of the best science fiction writers in the whole world, making them write little bitty six-word science fiction stories. Shortest fiction, if you will.

Anyway, here's my six-word story: Exhausted writer flees on lovely rocketship

I think everybody should chip in with a short short short science fiction story. It's like doing push-ups with your brain. And more importantly, we can publish the world's smallest anthology and retire to some tropical island with the proceeds.

Enjoy this article? Help vote it up the 'Vine.

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Public Discussion (199)

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Wow ... this is harder than I thought it would be. Hummmmm...... A six word science fiction story... Let me see ... Halloween is coming, so here she goes ---

"Ghosts Are Whispering In My Ear."

-- by Nancy Kemp

OK, feedback, how did I do?

And, just wanted to welcome my new friend to Newsvine! Enjoy!

6 votes

#1 - Fri Oct 27, 2006 2:16 PM EDT

ArdithDeleted

Ha... ha... tis so true!

Attack of the Killer Texas Chicks

4 votes

#1.2 - Sat Oct 28, 2006 1:48 AM EDT

Saint Regis Tribe is One True Mohawk;

Migrate On My Precious Mother Land

4 votes

#1.3 - Sat Oct 28, 2006 1:56 AM EDT

but it continued to rise, despair!

2 votes

#1.4 - Sat Oct 28, 2006 2:45 AM EDT

NC--You need to open a new publishing house: Six-Word Press. You can store the entire stock in a shoebox and sell your stories at micro-press conventions...

Ardith, that alliteration was priceless. Those six words jump off the page. Or screen.

Chill, great work too. Lots of conflicting emotions packed together in a single sentence. I'm sold!

All three of you, thanks for jumping in. It's always more fun playing with a group of writers...

2 votes

#1.5 - Sat Oct 28, 2006 11:31 AM EDT

Jason

your enthusiasm is contagious. Nice seed. For a moment you made me think I could write (short moment).

The seed reminded me of my favourite 6 word novel title of all time:

"One Monday, We Killed Them All" by the legendary John D Macdonald

3 votes

#1.6 - Sat Oct 28, 2006 2:28 PM EDT

White Flag Up; Dental Surgeon Enters

4 votes

#1.7 - Sat Oct 28, 2006 2:59 PM EDT

Brilliant! It's a little spooky and evocative of a much larger plot; the kind of story that could stretch for 250 pages if you really wanted to write it...

2 votes

#2 - Fri Oct 27, 2006 2:27 PM EDT

Tis oh so true ... And, I have always loved ghost stories! Boo! Scare ya?

3 votes

#2.1 - Fri Oct 27, 2006 2:35 PM EDT

It's zenic; I like it.

3 votes

#2.2 - Fri Oct 27, 2006 3:16 PM EDT

Oooooh. That was five words! You can do it.

Jump in the six-word story pool, the water's fine...

1 vote

#2.3 - Fri Oct 27, 2006 3:59 PM EDT

"Think I shortened the fuse to..."

Last words "Hey y'all, watch this."

4 votes

#3 - Fri Oct 27, 2006 3:15 PM EDT

Exactly! I love it. You have suspense, action, and a climactic ending. That's what I look for in regular books too. Thanks for stopping by.

2 votes

#4 - Fri Oct 27, 2006 4:00 PM EDT

Last words "Hey y'all, watch this."

Hey, is that fair? Isn't y'all really 2 words? Busted!!!

1 vote

#4.1 - Fri Oct 27, 2006 4:52 PM EDT

Darkover beckons, red hair bristling power.
Dragonsongs sulfurous, harpers hall entertains outworlders.
Starship sings while star explodes. Help!
Foundation at world's end, seek inside.

Some favorites shouted out, I replied.

5 votes

#4.2 - Sun Oct 29, 2006 5:25 AM EST

brilliant Marilyn!

3 votes

#4.3 - Sun Oct 29, 2006 8:44 AM EST

I'll take a shot at this:

Robotic servitors revolt, humans de-volt them.

7 votes

#5 - Fri Oct 27, 2006 4:17 PM EDT

Wow! It has classic sci-fi elements with a dash of rhyme. Unexpected twist. Sounds great when you read it out loud...

2 votes

#5.1 - Fri Oct 27, 2006 6:33 PM EDT

Utopians alter history, Utopia arrives earlier.

7 votes

#6 - Fri Oct 27, 2006 4:30 PM EDT

I wish that could happen here. We need lots of stories like that one. Thanks for playing...

2 votes

#6.1 - Fri Oct 27, 2006 6:34 PM EDT

Mykola Bilokonsky

"Dear?! It was you all alon --"

7 votes

#7 - Fri Oct 27, 2006 4:39 PM EDT

As a dedicated Agatha Christie fan, I love your twist ending. The world's shortest twist ending, even.

4 votes

#7.1 - Fri Oct 27, 2006 6:35 PM EDT

Can I play again???

Captain Underpants Attack Principal and Students

8 votes

#8 - Fri Oct 27, 2006 5:02 PM EDT

Sounds surreal. Superheroes always work though...

2 votes

#8.1 - Fri Oct 27, 2006 6:51 PM EDT

Not in New York Normalcy There;

2 votes

#8.2 - Sat Oct 28, 2006 1:58 AM EDT

"Give me a match. My gastank's ..."

6 votes

#9 - Fri Oct 27, 2006 5:28 PM EDT

Stupid people like that are what make horror movies so fun. We depend on these characters. Thanks for chipping in.

3 votes

#9.1 - Fri Oct 27, 2006 6:52 PM EDT

Magic kettle destroys all. THE END.

9 votes

#10 - Fri Oct 27, 2006 5:35 PM EDT

In the movie version, who would play the kettle? Thanks for coming out, that was funny stuff.

2 votes

#10.1 - Sat Oct 28, 2006 11:32 AM EDT

Pot calls Kettle black: Big Slap!

5 votes

#10.2 - Sat Oct 28, 2006 5:02 PM EDT

I'm not sure, I hadn't given it much thought. Russel Hobbs would be my first choice, and Morphy Richards would be a close second.

1 vote

#10.3 - Mon Oct 30, 2006 10:21 AM EST

Red pill gave me a hangover.

9 votes

#11 - Fri Oct 27, 2006 5:53 PM EDT

That's exactly how I felt after watching the last Matrix movie--confused, hurt, and sad. Great job.

1 vote

#11.1 - Sat Oct 28, 2006 11:33 AM EDT

Don't take me to your leader!

12 votes

#12 - Fri Oct 27, 2006 6:01 PM EDT

Timely! Good to see you in the 6-word business...

3 votes

#12.1 - Sat Oct 28, 2006 11:34 AM EDT

You mean he's not a monkey?

2 votes

#12.2 - Mon Oct 30, 2006 1:28 PM EST

Noah BradleyDeleted

ArdithDeleted

Tea and madeleine; leader memories return.

Of course that's far too short a sentence, and not nearly enough punctuation, for Proust; who would be spinning in his grave. :-)

5 votes

#15 - Fri Oct 27, 2006 7:05 PM EDT

Proust would need three volumes to get that far, DJD

5 votes

#15.1 - Fri Oct 27, 2006 8:08 PM EDT

Yep, but I only had six words.

5 votes

#15.2 - Sat Oct 28, 2006 4:05 AM EDT

"Madeleine" is such a wonderful word. Thanks for condensing the classic novels for us.

2 votes

#15.3 - Sat Oct 28, 2006 11:38 AM EDT

Outside, the machines gathered the bodies.

The crowd looked skyward, calmly waiting.

Swallowing, I realized I'd been poisoned.

I told you. We don't torture!

9 votes

#16 - Fri Oct 27, 2006 7:35 PM EDT

By far the darkest entries in the series. This would make a good, bleak book of science fiction. Thanks for stopping by...

1 vote

#16.1 - Sat Oct 28, 2006 1:13 PM EDT

Division by Zero

Only in the end the beginning.

6 votes

#17 - Fri Oct 27, 2006 7:37 PM EDT

Reminds me of some of my favourite SF titles:

"We Can Remember it for you wholesale" - Phillip K Dick
"I have no mouth and I must scream" - Harlan Ellison

For me, they encapsulate the whole story in very few words.

How about an homage to William Burroughs:

"Dr Benway pursues the Wild Boys"

5 votes

#18 - Fri Oct 27, 2006 8:13 PM EDT

William Burroughs would have loved this game, I think...

3 votes

#18.1 - Sat Oct 28, 2006 11:39 AM EDT

Here's my attempt:

World outside the window went bang.

There you have it.

6 votes

#19 - Fri Oct 27, 2006 8:59 PM EDT

Great! Thanks for writing. Apocalypse fits well in the 6 word form.

1 vote

#19.1 - Sat Oct 28, 2006 11:39 AM EDT

On a dark, dreary evening...Aliens!

4 votes

#20 - Fri Oct 27, 2006 9:14 PM EDT

When I was bored as a kid, I used to wish that would happen to me. Thanks for writing!

1 vote

#20.1 - Sat Oct 28, 2006 11:40 AM EDT

StephanieBamBam

Love these. :)

- She said no, the story's over.

-"Why," he cried. Because that's life.

- "Incoming," they yell, far too late.

Erm. Dunno why mine all take a slightly morbid twist...ok, happy..

- I believe in happily ever after.

- A smile was all it took.

5 votes

#21 - Fri Oct 27, 2006 10:05 PM EDT

Thanks for bringing some happy endings to our fantastical short fiction page, Bobbi

2 votes

#21.1 - Sat Oct 28, 2006 7:19 PM EDT

Toxic seeds virtually destroyed the biodiversity.

Muckrakers stopped disaster just in time.

That's the story I'm sticking with.

5 votes

#22 - Fri Oct 27, 2006 10:31 PM EDT

I, Robot, lost and regained empire

5 votes

#23 - Fri Oct 27, 2006 10:37 PM EDT

ArdithDeleted

Anybody who can pull off classic references in 6 words is welcome on this page. Thanks for playing!

#23.2 - Sat Oct 28, 2006 7:20 PM EDT

They sound like dystopias, Pamela

4 votes

#24 - Fri Oct 27, 2006 10:39 PM EDT

Sarcophilus...They sound like dystopias, Pamela

Is that a good thing, or should I seek immediate treatment for the condition?

3 votes

#24.1 - Sat Oct 28, 2006 6:42 PM EDT

These are getting very self-referential!

#24.2 - Sat Oct 28, 2006 7:20 PM EDT

On Newsvine a new paradigm emerged

2 votes

#24.3 - Mon Oct 30, 2006 3:02 PM EST

They are dropping rocks on Earth.

Who hit the shiny red button?

The revolution began with sweet fennel.

Freedom is slavery, ignorance is strength. <--- Orwell

Stop poking me with that nano-stick.

What did I win for writing good? ;)

10 votes

#25 - Fri Oct 27, 2006 11:13 PM EDT

The revolution began with sweet fennel.

that deserves another vote!

6 votes

#26 - Fri Oct 27, 2006 11:15 PM EDT

The revolution began with sweet fennel.

that deserves another vote!

Here, Here; Motion To The Second...

5 votes

#26.1 - Sat Oct 28, 2006 2:49 PM EDT

Ah, newsvine friendship, in 6 words.

2 votes

#26.2 - Sat Oct 28, 2006 7:21 PM EDT

I finally asked; she didn't answer.

My favorite is still Frank Miller's

With bloodied hands, I say goodbye.

5 votes

#27 - Sat Oct 28, 2006 12:01 AM EDT

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