weird quiet girl fading from view…
If you had to encapsulate the whole of your life into six words, which words would you choose? Which words articulate who you are, who you were, or who you will become? Your life. In six words.
When Hemingway famously wrote, “For Sale: baby shoes, never worn,” he proved that an entire story can be told using a half dozen words. When the online storytelling magazine SMITH asked readers to submit six-word memoirs, they proved a whole, real life can be told this way too. The results are fascinating, hilarious, shocking, and moving. From small sagas of bittersweet romance (”Found true love, married someone else”) to proud achievements and stinging regrets (”After Harvard, had baby with crackhead”), these terse true tales relate the diversity of human experience in tasty bite-sized pieces. From authors Jonathan Lethem and Richard Ford to comedians Stephen Colbert and Amy Sedaris, to ordinary folks around the world, everyone has a six-word story to tell.
I’m quite honored to have my six words (weird quiet girl fading from view) featured in the book edited by SMITH Mag’s Larry Smith and Rachel Fershleiser.
And in celebration of memoirs and the brave, talented people who write them, I have two THREE copies of Not Quite What I Was Planning: Six Word Memoirs by Writers Famous and Obscure to give away. How do you snag a copy? I’m very glad you asked, kids. Craft your memoir in six words in the comments section below, and I’ll select THREE winners by Friday!!
Update: Larry Smith, the pimp daddy of all that is cool, has informed me that you can also submit your six word memoirs to Smith for possible inclusion in their next book! Do it! Do it!
Update 2.1.08: Cripe, all of these were so gosh darn GOOD. Smite you, brilliant friends! Anyway, my picks (and I snagged some more copies) are: Suki, Matthew, Krista, Rob, Caroline & James. Thank you to all who entered and shared your memoirs with me!!! xoxox, f.
January 29th, 2008 at 12:16 pm
oh, count me in!
here’s mine:
out of madness spun her dream
January 29th, 2008 at 12:25 pm
After dinner with family, she purged.
I remember doing these exercises for some creative writing class, somewhere. They are fun.
Another fun one: He regretted shoeing the lame horse.
January 29th, 2008 at 1:09 pm
here’s my contribucion, and the first that came to mind:
Amidst quiet rage she found life…
January 29th, 2008 at 1:35 pm
Packed dreams bursting at the seams.
January 29th, 2008 at 1:38 pm
I wish I had invented mustard.
January 29th, 2008 at 2:06 pm
can i change mine? i thought of a better one while driving my daughter to school:
deep wide river runs through her
(hey i wish i had invented mustard too…)
January 29th, 2008 at 2:15 pm
They thought it was the flu.
January 29th, 2008 at 10:51 pm
faces what she fears, loving it
January 30th, 2008 at 12:59 am
Closed a door, opened a life.
ps–my sister Libby is in the book with you! her contribution: “Learned reading, writing, arithmetic; forgot arithmetic.”
January 30th, 2008 at 2:11 am
Had an epiphany a couple of days ago, and wouldn’t you know it, it’s six words. Here it is:
“Time flies as I stand still”
January 30th, 2008 at 10:26 am
lost girl found alive and breathing
January 30th, 2008 at 10:32 am
i wanted only to live well.
:)
January 30th, 2008 at 12:20 pm
also,
you may feel a little pinch.
January 30th, 2008 at 6:57 pm
Not so fast, the universe commands.
January 30th, 2008 at 10:54 pm
Well traveled girl, looking for home.
January 30th, 2008 at 11:43 pm
Children don’t play quietly in corners.
January 31st, 2008 at 10:44 am
“Lives lightly, thinks deeply, smiles quietly”
January 31st, 2008 at 1:36 pm
medea-mother’s daughter beautiful actress tmj’s poverty
January 31st, 2008 at 2:09 pm
1) Getting educated in literature and life. 2) Wanted: the bard to my poet. 3) Achieving my goals through passionate persistence.
January 31st, 2008 at 2:15 pm
she’s one in millions: sufficiently loved.
January 31st, 2008 at 9:32 pm
Four kids in five years. Help.
February 1st, 2008 at 12:20 am
Was on drugs. Love saved me.
Or for the lighter tone:
She came. She saw. She blogged.
February 1st, 2008 at 7:45 am
“From conception, one accident after another.”
February 1st, 2008 at 11:15 am
I tell my poor husband this almost every night as we get into bed with his high hopes -
“I’ll perk up in a minute!”
February 2nd, 2008 at 8:14 pm
Here are 3 for me…
the crazy monkeys keep me sane.
living my passion, picking up poop.
sleep, eat, work. rinse and repeat.
:)
February 27th, 2008 at 2:28 am
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