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11 May 2014

Shortest Short Stories

I've been a bit busy lately writing my bachelor thesis. It is going horirble, and the deadline is approaching at a terribly fast pace.
Quite well-timed, I found this little article [in Russian] on the shortest literary masterpieces, and wanted to share it here. These stories amuse me and make a bit sad at the same time: I wish I could be as concise in expressing my thoughts and ideas in my own writing. So far I feel like a parody on Tolstoy. Ah! damn thesis!

Anyways...

1) Once Hemingway bet ten dollars that he could write a moving story of only six words. He wrote it on a napkin: "For sale: baby shoes, never worn." He won the bet, naturally.

2) Frederic Brown composed the shortest sci-fi story: "The last man on Earth sat alone in a room. There was a knock on the door..." Pretty scary!

3) O. Henry won an american competition on the shortest short story, writing one that has all the necessary elements: drawstrings, climax and denouement: "The drived lit a cigarette and leaned over the gas tank to see how many of the remaining gasoline. The deceased was twenty-three years."

4) The Brisith also made the same contest. Its main condition was covering the following themes: the Queen, God, sex, mystery. The result was very entertaining: "Oh God, - exclaimed the queen - I'm pregnant. I wonder who is the father."

5) Some elderly Frenchwoman won another literary contest - on the shortest autobiography. This is how she described her life: "I used to have a smooth face and wrinkled skirt, and now - on the contrary."

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