Six Word Memoirs on Life Stories

RedStickWriter says,

The Big Dog said to pose this here. I did it because the Big Dog said. Scroll down.

Dean6805 says,

I edited out about an hour's worth of writing just last night because I realized I was describing a scene I want to save for much later in the story. It wasn't really a waste of time, since I'll just use it again when the time comes. I cut & pasted it into another doc I've got going just for that purpose.
canadafreeze says,

Profound thinking. I'm constantly editing, cutting, pasting, and keeping a "perhaps" journal.
RedStickWriter says,

It is good to hear from kindred spirits.
Larry_D._Smith says,

Pose that one to "Questions" -- it's an interesting idea.
smithmag.net/questions

Dean6805 says,

I still think this is a good one. I did more revision on the already-edited chapters I've written... so far, I think I've done more revision than writing. Kind of a life metaphor, I think.

RedStickWriter says,

Dean6805,

I recently had an MOTD in my first visit to SMITH in a number of months. It speaks to the same issue.

Here's the memoir:

Chasing better makes book two harder.

Here's the link to the original posting:

http://www.smithmag.net/sixwords/story.php?did=353894

Of course, for most of us, the typewriter is simply symbolic these days. Other than that, this Ernest Hemingway quote speaks volumes:

“There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed.”

Dean6805 says,

Good quote. It's tough to see stuff you poured yourself into cut away, but keeping the ultimate goal in mind helps. My biggest personal hurdle is consistency. Keeping at it. I do okay at first, but then I find other things to do. Hopefully, I'll be finishing this one because I asked a couple friends to nip at my heels, so to speak.

RedStickWriter says,

As regards to my mention of a word problem in the backstory, it amazes me how much time can be spent whittling and Plastic-Wooding to get a simple six-word statement to read with clarity and impact. Tinkering things around to come in at or under 140 characters in Tweets is also challenging on occasion, especially since I'm not much of a texter and abhor texting abbreviations.

A memory popped into my head while thinking of word problems. An algebra teacher of mine who was also one of my high school coaches and later became my brother-in-law (now former but still considered a valued mentor and friend) was in his first year of teaching. A brilliant but creative and maverick student was call upon to work a word problem at the board on a day when school system representatives were observing from the back of the class. The student was solving for x and y, which in this case represented the numbers of boys and girls in a group. As bright as he was, his solution did not come out quite right and left him with halves of people. That's when his creativity kicked in and he uttered, "So, there were 13 boys, 12 girls, and one hermaphrodite. The look on the face of my future brother-in-law as he peered at the observers at the rear of the room, as you can imagine, was priceless.

accidentaltourist says,

Has anyone read Stephen King's "On Writing"? There is some good stuff there. He talks a bit about editing, and description as well.

RedStickWriter says,

Unlike many books about writing, On Writing is nearly as pleasurable to read as a novel, yet it is still packed with writing enlightenment.

RedStickWriter says,

Here's a new, yet related, topic.

http://www.smithmag.net/questions/story.php?did=362520

canadafreeze says,

I, too, believe Stephen King's, "On Writing" is easily one of the smartest, most accessible books about writing. Period. It is the basis for my creative writing circle and even shy writers are encouraged by his style. Say it better with fewer words.

accidentaltourist says,

CF...I think that point was the one that stuck with me....how nearly everyone has a point of reference on every situation or scene, and all they need are a few well placed hints to take their mind's eye where the author wishes it to go.