Hello Pub Crawlers!
The New Leaf Literary team is really excited that the weather has finally warmed up. It’s perfect for reading in Central Park, lunches in Bryant Park, walks along the river, and more—and so we wanted to celebrate.
A bundle of books is up for grabs to the person who can come up with a fantastic summer themed six word story (yes, you heard correctly—only six words!), judged by the team at New Leaf.
Here are the books you could win:
- Snow Like Ashes by Sara Raasch
- Strange & Ever After by Susan Dennard
- Sanctum by Sarah Fine
- Shut Out by Kody Keplinger
- a movie tie-in edition of Insurgent by Veronica Roth
This exercise, for those of you who don’t know, comes from Ernest Hemingway, who knew how difficult something like this would be to achieve. If you need an idea of a few famous examples, see the below:
For sale: Baby shoes. Never worn. —Ernest Hemingway
Longed for him. Got him. Shit. —Margaret Atwood
Wasted day. Wasted life. Dessert, please. —Steven Meretzky
We only have three rules.
- It must be exactly six words (and your own words only).
- It must celebrate/focus on the theme of summer.
- Be as creative as you want!
Please post your stories in the comments section. We’re looking forward to reading them!
♥ —the New Leaf team
UPDATE: The winner of our contest was…
LINDA!
With the awesome story:
Mouthful of salt water. Undertow wins.
Thank you to all our amazing entrants!!
Spring sprung summer’s sizzle so suddenly.
Summer epitomized: fresh grass, long days.
Sun, surf, wind, wave, deep, drown.
Can you submit more than one?
This is not my story… The six words are just a coincidence 🙂
The coffin melted her ice-cream. Oops.
Sun, breeze, grass, heat, book. Smile.
Sunburn, heartburn. Problems of summer excitement.
What fun!! And great books! Here’s mine:
Dripping cone. Sandaled toes. Perfectly happy.
Oh man, I’ve never been good at this. Here’s my shot at it! haha
Summer love melted faster than ice-cream.
Scottish summer, keep your umbrella handy.
Warm breeze, stolen kisses, summer love.
heat, sweat, sunburn; memories never forgotten.
Not sure if you can submit a second one, but here it goes:
Old beach, young girl, new summer.
With the heat, came the melting.
Footsteps in the sand. Only mine.
Encircling arms. Picnic blanket. Endless sunlight.
Sunburned family picnic. Ocean. Forgot meds.
Lounge chair, cold drink, book, go!
Eighty degrees. Shit. Remember snow? No.
Book packed. Sunscreen on. Sand–*sigh*.
Outside all day. Sunburn now peeling.
Can we have more than 1 go?!
Holiday romance. You lied, I itch.
Sausages, burgers call the fire brigade!
Sunshine, ocean, seaside cliffs. Coastal drive.
Swing and a miss. Strike three!
Hotdogs. Hamburgers. Light the grill!
Hotdogs and Hamburgers. Light the grill!
Summer fades, breakup tattoos are forever.
Warm days, summer haze, hot faze.
Mouthful of salt water. Undertow wins.
Summer’s here. Must shave legs. Crap.
Complained all winter, now too hot.
Grass cut. Charcoal’s hot. Let’s eat!
Camping, smores, friends and books! Bliss.
Hands touch. A spark. Suddenly, fireworks.
I can only laugh to live.
Her death came like summer heat.
School doors close, one collective sigh.
Nobody expects the apocalypse in flip-flops.
Third try:
Summer storm. Sudden calm. Lost seafarer.
Bliss – I’m carefree as the bumblebees.
Summer solstice. She opts to reap.
Great British Summer: Wet and windy.
First sail. Summer storm. Empty sea.
Roadside lemonade stand. Take our chances?
Sunburned. Grounded. He smiles. Worth it.
Summer was dead…or was it?
Melted ice cream. Sunburn. Fuck this.
Too cold. Too warm. Just right.
Work done! Family. Grilling! Opens beer.
School’s out. Trees, firecrackers, BMX. ER.
First kiss. No call. Long summer.
A miracle! Snow in the summer
Beach, margarita, new book. Finally, heaven!
Flickers of light. Fairies, until morning.
Sun-kissed skin. He leaves. She burns.
Sunburns. Honeysuckles. Fireflies. Memories are made.
Memories of Twilight skies and ice cream.
Butterflies; the hope of something new.
Flowers. Bees. Sharp pinch…can’t breathe!
Summer is too hot. Staying indoors.
Lust happens in Summer. Not love.
“Mom, it’s my last summer. Please?”
Beach Blanket Landed Beach Bunnie Billionaire
Fascinating fireworks. Short fuse. Boom! Lefty.
Summer love. Fall wedding. Winter funeral.
Find fun. Triathlon activities. Freaking injured.
She said. He said. Divorce final.
“Found: bloated, sticky corpse; heatwave.” Guilty…
Feral urges, dog days of summer.
Late night, windows down, volume up.
Winter’s broken heart is sunmer’s restart.
Whadya wanna do? Dunno, you? Meh.
Summer is long, but I’m alone.
Red checkered blanket, juicy watermelon,ants!!!!!!!
Long days. Summer sun. Grumpy vamps.
Crab claws pulled me under water.
Barbeque. Fireworks. First love, now dead.
Hot night. Creaky bed. Annoyed neighbour.
Upturned soil. Bait set. Not fishing.
Father arrived. Unannounced. Unexpected. Goodbye summer.
Orange bikini. He smiles. Tequila sunrise.
Jack and Jill. Suspicious accident. Insurance fraud.
I messed up on this one. I used 7 words. I can’t count.
Heat stroke. Cold corpse. Goodbye, summer.
Lives in shoe. Twenty kids. Vasectomy.
Travel. Scotland. Hoping to find Jaime.
Not now. Too hot. Maybe tomorrow.