Six Word Memoirs
Six word memoirs are a fun way to get your creative juices flowing and to do creative writing in a way that anyone can finish the story. The challenge is simple, can you summarize your life in six words? The origins of this challenge come from a story surrounding Ernest Hemingway. Apparently, the author was challenged to write a six word memoir and came up with "For sale: Baby shoes. Never worn."
A great six word memoir is one which tells a unique story about your life and captures the essence of it in just those six simple words. Writing a six word memoir can help you think of full length stories you want to tell as you struggle to come up with something you can define in the shorter space. Googling six word memoirs, you can find a great set of examples. Here are a few that I was given when I asked this question myself on twitter.
- Divorce is not a broken home
- Poor papa raised four free spirits
- Pregnant at nineteen and in college
- Love like you've never been hurt - Sing like no one is listening - Dance like no one is watching - Live like it's heaven on earth
- Sometimes, life takes a different path.
These are all great and every one of them tells a different story, all with just six words. While you don't get the full picture with these pieces, you're given a brief snapshot that lets your mind fill in the blanks. Probably my favorite six word memoir comes from a video on the book "Not Quite What I Was Planning: Six-Word Memoirs by Writers, Famous & Obscure."
- Joyce Carol Oates: Revenge is living well without you
You can view more of these in the video for the book:
Overall, six word memoirs are a great creative writing activity that I highly recommend everyone try. It's a fun way to get everyone involved in the writing process with the smallest amount of commitment possible.
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