Tuesday, January 12, 2010

simply put

I am sure my literary friends and family have heard of the bet between Ernest Heminway and his friend. The author claimed he could write a short story in six words and he did: "For sale: baby shoes, never worn."

Well, did you know that Smith Magazine has six-word memoirs? There are books that have been published with celebrities and unknowns' six-word memoirs. I actually have never heard of this until yesterday but do remember the poignant short story of Heminway's.

Isn't it a great concept? Your life in six words. Here is a video with some catchy music, telling you more about it. The newest book is It All Changed in an Instant and after watching this, I immediately reserved a copy at the library.



So, could you do it? Tell your life story in six words? It is harder than it seems.  !  Hey, that is a good one:  It is harder than it seems.  I like that.  Or maybe:  Find the beauty in all things.

Those are pretty generic though.  Almost like a fortune cookie.  Back to the blank page for me...

Can you come up with your own six-word memoir?  If so, please share!  I would love to read it.  If I can come up with mine, I'll share it too.

13 comments:

Abbey said...

What a great concept. Thanks for sharing the book. It made for some interesting thinking and I finally came up with one.

Here is mine: "Infertility sucks but doesn't define me." :)

Krista said...

I haven't figured it out yet.

There was a really funny column in The New Yorker about this. The whole thing was written in 6-word sentences. Hilarious!

Krista said...

Here is the link to that column:

http://www.newyorker.com/talk/2008/02/25/080225ta_talk_widdicombe

aimee said...

Krista, that is hilarious! :)

Abbey, what a wonderful memoir.

aimee said...

Wait, Krista, that was a good one too! I just got it.

Michelle said...

Mine seem to have a theme:

Princesses shouldn't have to scrub toilets.
I didn't sign up for this.
Motherhood doesn't mean being a maid.

My kids came up for this one for me.
Mom is the destroyer of fun!

aimee said...

Michelle, those were so good! Especially mothers are the destroyers of fun. That is so true in a kid's eyes.

Krista said...

Destroyer of fun! Ha!

I thought of another one:

I wish I could read more.

aimee said...

That is a good one Krista.

Today, mine is:

I wish I had more sleep.

Because I am tired.

Michelle said...

I can't stop thinking about this.
Husband's snoring has driven me crazy.
I am a work in progress.
Perpetually behind on my family's blog.
One husband, three children, limitless love.

Krista said...

Oh, me too on the snoring.

Hey, that was also six words.

Anonymous said...

I like the statement:

I am a work in progress!

Melissa

Karen said...

Here is one - a little late.

Aging well is a great gift.