Doug Weller is a storyteller, author, and the creator of Six Word Wonder, a creative writing project built around one simple challenge: tell something unforgettable in exactly six words.
Through six word stories, memoirs, poems, and jokes, Doug explores how brevity can spark imagination. What looks small on the page can carry humour, sadness, surprise, mystery, and emotion far beyond its size.
Doug is the creator of the Six Word Wonder contest, which has attracted more than 30,000 entries from writers around the world. Over the years, the contest and the wider Six Word Wonder project have encouraged thousands of people to experiment with tiny stories and discover just how much power can live inside six carefully chosen words.
Quick Facts
- Creator of Six Word Wonder
- Founder of the Six Word Wonder contest
- Author of the Six Word Wonder book series
- Author of the psychological thriller The Forgetting Cycle
- Writer of fiction for younger readers, including Calico Rae – Twisted Towers and Boy in a Box
Doug Weller and Six Word Wonder
Doug Weller created Six Word Wonder to celebrate one of storytelling’s most exciting truths: constraint can unlock creativity. Six words force every choice to matter. There is no room for waste, but there is still room for voice, originality, and feeling.
What began as a fascination with extreme brevity became a growing creative world of books, examples, prompts, tools, teaching resources, and contests. Today, dougweller.net is home to readers and writers who enjoy six word stories, six word memoirs, six word poetry, and other forms of miniature writing.
If you are new to the form, a good place to begin is six word story examples, what counts as a word in a six word story, or the tools for authors page.
Books by Doug Weller
Doug writes across more than one corner of fiction.
His six-word books include Six Word Wonder, Six Word Story, Six Word Stories, and the Six Word Wonder Workbook. These books explore how microfiction can entertain, surprise, move, and challenge readers in the smallest possible space.
Doug has also written longer fiction, including the psychological thriller The Forgetting Cycle, as well as books for younger readers such as Calico Rae – Twisted Towers and Boy in a Box. His work ranges from tiny stories to larger imaginative adventures, but the common thread is always storytelling.
You can explore the full range on the Doug Weller books page.
Why Doug Weller writes
Doug is drawn to the moment when a few words suddenly open into something much larger. Sometimes that means a six word line that lands like a punchline. Sometimes it means a darker twist. Sometimes it means a tender moment, a strange image, or a memory that seems to echo beyond the page.
Across short forms and longer fiction alike, his work is shaped by a love of compression, imagination, and emotional impact. Whether writing for adults or younger readers, Doug is interested in stories that leave a mark.
For readers, writers, and teachers
Dougweller.net is not only a place to discover Doug’s writing. It is also a resource for people who want to write their own. The site includes examples, guides, prompts, tools, classroom resources, and the chance to enter the Six Word Wonder contest.
- Enter the Six Word Wonder contest
- Read six word story examples
- Explore teaching six word stories
- Try the microfiction prompts generator
- Browse random 6 word memoirs
Find Doug Weller online
Doug Weller and Six Word Wonder can also be found across social media, including Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, and more. But the best place to explore the full world of Doug’s work is right here on dougweller.net.
If you want updates on books, contests, and new writing resources, you can also join the mailing list below.
Start here
New to Doug Weller’s work? Here are a few good places to begin:
- The Six Word Wonder contest
- Books by Doug Weller
- Six word story examples
- What is six word poetry?
- Six word story templates
Find Six Word Wonder Online
Six Word Wonder and Doug Weller can also be found across social media:
Instagram — @sixwordwonder
Facebook — @sixwordwonder
Twitter — @realdougweller
SoundCloud — @sixwordwonder
Tumblr — @sixwordwonder
TikTok — @sixwordwonder
The best places to find Doug is here at dougweller.net