For sale: baby shoes, never worn.
Why is that a story? It has conflict. What is the conflict? Well, that depends on where you fall on the sentimental/cynical continuum.
Many people read it as the story of hopes shattered: maybe a woman bought baby shoes in anticipation of having a baby but was never able to. Or even worse: maybe those shoes were a gift to a baby who didn't survive. Whatever the case, the owner of the shoes can't bear to possess them anymore but doesn't want to throw them away. Maybe it gives her peace to think that some other baby will be able to wear them.
Come to think of it, don't we all have tangible objects that are reminders of dashed hopes and dreams? That baseball bat we used until we didn't make the team. Those dried flowers that were a gift from a date. Paints and brushes we bought, hoping to express ourselves artistically until we realized how untalented we are. Now those items sit on a shelf or in a corner, mocking our insufficiency. Why are we hanging on to them?
I'd say that's a fair amount to get from a six word story. But the more cynical among us might say that sounds like an ad on a Facebook yard sale group; maybe the shoes were a duplicate gift and the seller just wants to get top price for them. It's still a story--there is a still a conflict--but it's not a rich one.
For today, write a six word story. It should have an (implied) conflict and should be narratively rich enough to provoke thought. After you write your story, comment on two stories of others, suggesting the story behind the six words as you understand it. In the comments, you can explain your thoughts about your story after a few people have tried to explicate it.
Here is my six word story:
He leaped. "No! Changed my mind!"
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