Six-Word Memoirs

Sue Katz, who is a blogger friend, sent me a post on this new book, and totally delighted me. There’s a new book out, which I haven’t read, called Not Quite What I Was Planning: Six-Word Memoirs by Writers Famous & Obscure collects almost 1,000 six-word memoirs, including additions from many celebrities including Stephen Colbert, Jane Goodall, Dave Eggers, and more.

From their website . . . http://smithmag.net/sixwords/

Six-Word Memoirs: The Legend

“Legend has it that Hemingway was once challenged to write a story in only six words. His response? “For sale: baby shoes, never worn.” Last year, SMITH Magazine re-ignited the recountre by asking our readers for their own six-word memoirs. They sent in short life stories in droves, from the bittersweet (“Cursed with cancer, blessed with friends”) and poignant (“I still make coffee for two”) to the inspirational (“Business school? Bah! Pop music? Hurrah”) and hilarious (“I like big butts, can’t lie”).”

So what did I do? I wrote my own.

No God.
Know God.
O God.

What a great exercise! This one covers my whole life, but you could try it on whatever “problem” shows up next. Tell the story of it in six words. I’m willing to bet that you get to the bottomline—and clarity—in a heartbeat.