“To be or not to be.” That’s Shakespeare — you might know him. “Britney Spears goes off the rails.” That’s on the cover of tabloids. “I love you” holds such power. A few words can distill lifetimes.

At Reader’s Digest, we love stories. From exciting thrillers to harrowing tales of survival, stories remind us of love, loss, and what it means to be human. And a good story doesn’t have to be long.

It is said that novelist Ernest Hemingway, when asked to write a full story in six words, responded with “For sale: baby shoes, never worn.” A few years ago, Smith – an online magazine that ...