A slew of six-word stories from the Bates community, and a few videos too

Whether it’s a 140-character Tweet, a six-word story or a 150-page senior thesis, effective writing must rise to a specific challenge, says Hillory Oakes, the college’s director of writing and director of the Peer Writing and Speaking Center.

Hillory Oakes

Hillory Oakes

“You must be able to get to the point,” she says.

That’s the message behind a fun annual event, the college’s Six-Word Story contest, held during February’s International Writing Centers Week.

“What I love best is that we get entries from all over campus — from faculty, staff, and students of all years,” Oakes says.

The six-word story concept is based on the story, probably apocryphal, that Ernest Hemingway once won a bet that he could write a “novel” in six words. His six-word story: “For sale: Baby shoes, never worn.”

The Bates contest solicits both stories and memoirs, the latter a nod to the Smith magazine project that, since 2006, has crowd-sourced around a million six-word life stories.

Recently, Oakes and her team shared with the campus the best of the six-word stories and memoirs — they’re published below, along with a few crowd-sources videos. They also called out the first three entries for “Special Achievement in Metawriting.”

“I loved that they focused on the writing process,” Oakes says, which speaks to one of the key messages of the Writing at Bates program: “We are all writers at Bates.”

Best of the 2015 Six-Word Stories

“This memoir’s boring.” Ctrl A Delete
— Nathan Faries, lecturer in Asian Studies

Six words can’t possibly describe me.
— Sam Lagerstrom ’18, Edina, Minn.

Hemingway stole my six-word story.
— Eliza Gabriel ’15, Bloomington, Minn.

“I never loved you.” “What’s that?”
— Nathan Faries, lecturer in Asian Studies

Will this jacket be warm enough?
— Martha Schnee ’15, Newton, Mass.

“Time?” “Forty seconds.” “Let it fly.”
— Julia Szeto ‘17, Lake Oswego, Ore.

That was fun, wanna go again?
— Patrick Wood ’17, Salisbury, Conn.

Explosion over Lockerbie, eight friends falling.
— Perrin Lumbert, Ladd Library

Café. Eyes meet. Grasping for something.
— Laurel Fiddler ‘17, Crowley Lake, Calif.

You’re more stubborn than I am.
— Nicholas McCarthy ’15, Winnetka, Ill.

I can’t say that I’m jealous.
— Elise Emil ‘17, Washington, D.C.

Bates. March. Let’s order lamb.
— Kirk Read, professor of French and Francophone studies

Kill the dragon, get the girl.
— Alyssa Morgosh ’15, Oceanside, Calif.

I’ll play, if I can win.
— Kai Myers, age 11, as heard by Susan Stark

Sex blog. No time to blog.
— Brian Pfohl, assistant in instruction, psychology

(Pfohl came up with his story after reading about a couple who were going to have sex every day and blog about it.)

A heart covered with stretch marks.
— Jeanne Hua ’18, Honolulu, Hawaii

To learn, read; to understand, write.
— George Perkins, visiting associate professor of economics

Found: The sun’s soul, her shadow.
— Justin Moriarty, assistant technical director, theater

Long story short, life is wonderful.
— Andrew Seaton ’15, Wayne, Pa.

The Almanac’s snow prediction was right!
— Anne Williams, professor emerita of economics

Brevity covers a multitude of sins.
— Jordan Wenik ’17, Short Hills, N.J.

My life, in tears and laughter.
— Georgette Dumais, academic administrative assistant

Designed in love, I praise Him.
— Jake Paris, web developer and designer

Words unspoken: hearts could be broken.
— Joan Houston, Facility Services

Wind gust… lift off… life ends.
— Sarah Bernard ’75 , director of Human Resources information services

Searching for the Truth; I exist.
— Andrew Segal ’17, Glencoe, Ill.

“Happens every time; I can’t stop.”
— Daphne Comeau, administrative assistant, College Advancement