Defining your life in exactly six words can be the easiest thing in the world, or a seemingly impossible challenge. We’ve had bestselling memoirists take months to come up with a Six-Word Memoir they were happy with (seriously, one high-lit, household name sent in updates about his progress every couple months), while some of our SMITH Teeners zip out dozens at a time (and hundreds each day). All the while, teachers regularly ask us for our tips (note to teachers: contact us if you’d like our free Six-Word Memoir lesson plan), and someone from Yahoo! Answers recently asked the world, “Can anyone tell me how to write a Six-Word Memoir?” This short video—cribbed from Rachel Fershleiser’s “Six Tips” document—is the wonderful work of frequent Howcast.com animator Ben Oviatt, with an assist by SMITH’s own Lisa Qiu. Click, watch—and share your own Six-Word Memoir.
Obama sent troops home, Paris got into another pickle, and Earl reminded us that Mother Nature means business. Through our ups and down, the calm and the storm, your Six-Word Memoirs were like (fill in your own metaphor here SMITH readers—it’s been a long week). Here are six six-worders we love from the week ending September 3. Click on each author’s name to check out more memoirs.
Most Zen: “Silence: golden, and too often misquoted.” —KaleidoscopeEyes Most Conflicted: “Enthusiasm used up on my students.” —Aimiee (profile pic, above). Worst Way to Start the School Year: “School starts tomorrow. On my period.” —Life’s No Fairytale, from SMITHTeens Most Conflicted: “Katrina: destruction, disgrace, humanity. My name.” —Kriskelli Best Wordplay: “Anxiety attacks are my only cardio.” —VoxandQuill Timeliest Universal Truth: “Life is stormy, dance in rain.” —Sweener, from our new six-word project, Six Words on Pain & Hope, with the nonprofit, To Write Love on Her Arms.
PLUS:
• Make a T-Shirt: over on our shop at Spreadshirt
• Follow us on Twitter for a Six-Word Memoir of the Day, or sometimes even two.
• Join our Facebook group, where you Like us, you really Like us.
From themed contests, like Talbots’ call for memoirs about your beloved denim jeans, to recommendations from book-lovin’ librarians like Sarah, the shapes and form people apply to the Six-Word Memoir project are always just a Google Alert away. Here are some of our recent finds.
“Wishing I didn’t love Krispy Kremes.” Rachelle Gardner declares her love for memoirs–and Krispy Kreme donuts–in a recent post on her blog, “Rants & Ramblings: On Life as a Literary Agent,” in which she invited her readers to share their six-word memoirs. Read more »
This week, Katy Perry made your teenage dreams come true, a resilient New Orleans hit the five-year mark since Katrina, the housing market went down, and your Six-Word Memoirs kept our spirits up. Here are the six six-worders we love from the week ending August 27. Click on each author’s name to check out more memoirs.
Best Wordplay: “Hurt again and again; clicked defriend”—45shoshy Most Modern: “Family’s worst fears confirmed: I’m metrosexual.” —GabrielJR(profile picture, above) Most in Need of a Backstory: “Just call me ‘Little Miss Homewrecker’.” —PerfectlyBroken, from SMITHTeens Most in Need of a Hug: “Cleaning products are my only friends.”
—Engulfedbytheuniverse Best Therapy Advice: “Came to terms with affair. (Mine.).” —Susan Breeden Most Universal: “To someone you mean the world.” —Jules96, from our new six-word project, Six Words on Pain & Hope, with the nonprofit, To Write Love on Her Arms.
Plus:
• Make a T-Shirt: over on our shop at Spreadshirt
• Follow us on Twitter for one carefully selected Six-Word Memoir of the Day by our team of extremely human-looking robots.
• Join our Facebook group, which is like one sixy mixer.
Unemployment rose and Lindsay Lohan is still broke (and in rehab), but your Six-Word Memoirs continued to flow. Here are six six-worders we love from the week ending August 20. Click on each author’s name to check out more memoirs.
Best Wordplay: “Made first million mistakes before 30.” —Steve Anthony Most Lovely Yet Hearbreaking: “Laying with you but sleeping alone.”—1111pm (profile image, above) Most Outrageous: “My third-grader is romancing hot mom.” —Ctgoods2 Most Meta: “Filthy Minds. Stupid Mistakes. We’re Teenagers.” —Barbiebre, from SMITHTeens Least Mincing of Words: “My life: Eat, shit, fuck, sleep.” —StupidAngMo Most Universal: “Beat depression. Now I love others.” —Buffyfan5, from our new six-word project, Six Words on Pain & Hope, with the nonprofit, To Write Love on Her Arms.
PLUS:
• Make a T-Shirt: over on our shop at Spreadshirt.
• Follow us on Twitter for one carefully selected Six-Word Memoir of the Day.
• Join our Facebook group for an extra six fix.
I’m a relatively new intern, and am so impressed with the constant flow of creative ideas that are inspired by SMITH’s Six-Word Memoirs. Just when I think there couldn’t possibly be more, my Google Alerts shows me otherwise, sending me new blogs, sites, and projects to check out every single day. Here are some of my finds from the past few weeks.
“Old men keep asking me out.” After finding an example on a bottle cap of Honest Tea, Sarah Durden (who favors Moroccan Mint Green Tea) was inspired to write 100 of her own Six-Word Memoirs within a few days. The image above offers just a small slice of her sixes she posted on her blog. And we’re pleased to report Sarah’s become a member of SMITH and has been sharing her sixes here as well. Her most recent one says it all: “Keep life simple, say with less.”
“Still flying, Mom, by my pants!”MISSion Amy K. R. regularly gives its readers a new interactive “mission,” like leaving a friendly note for someone at the ATM, signing up for a “pen-less pal,” or–recently–writing a Six-Word Memoir. Next week’s mission? Creating a F*ck It List where participants can discuss things they no longer feel the need to accomplish. For me, that would include hiding my white hairs and marrying Justin Timberlake.
“Ignored warning signs. Took scenic route.” Brenda York, a painter interested in narrative art, currently has an exhibit featuring her autobiographical paintings each with a Six-Word story. Her exhibit “Long Story Short” can be found at the San Diego Art Institute through August 22.
“Sacred saltwater, the mother of life.” Hey, surfers and ocean-lovers, the Sea Sand Surf blog is calling for six words describing your love for the water. The site sets a good pace with its own six-word tagline: “A Place For the Ocean Minded.”
Are you working on your own Six-Word Memoir project? Tell us: we’ll tell everyone else.
The heat broke on the east, as did the spirit of at least one flight attendant, but your Six-Word Memoirs could not be stopped. Here are six six-worders we love from the week ending August 13. Click on each author’s name to check out more memoirs.
Most Pragmatic: “Dreamed of bohemia. Changed my mind.” —TheQuietOne Most Determined: “Goal: Kiss him before he leaves.” —Invisiblegirl, from SMITHTeens Most Versatile: “Thinking Air Force. Or maybe dancer.” —Emonerd_951 Most Creative Biblical Interpretation: “Love thy neighbor, through parted curtains.” —Renegade Best Imagery: “Dining solo, but not without candlelight.” —Geo Most Universal: “Everyone has scars. Everyone has stories.” —HearUsNow, from our new six-word project, Six Words on Pain & Hope, with the nonprofit, To Write Love on Her Arms.
PLUS:
• Make a T-Shirt: over on our shop at Spreadshirt (as seen modeled by this mysterious six-word lover, above).
• Follow us on Twitter for one carefully selected Six-Word Memoir of the Day.
• Join our Facebook group for an extra six fix.
A few months ago I received an over-the-transom email from a young woman named Chloe Grabanski. She explained:
I work for a nonprofit organization, To Write Love on Her Arms (TWLOHA), and I’m a huge fan of “Six-Word Memoirs.” TWLOHA works to raise awareness for issues like depression, addiction, self-injury, and suicide. We also invest directly into treatment and recovery. We’re big fans of words, and what you are doing is amazing.
It was clear just how aligned SMITH and TWLOHA were about the strange, often surprising power of just a few words to make a huge difference. Like SMITH, TWLOHA has been all over Twitter, even winning the “Best Nonprofit use of Twitter” award from the The Shorty Awards. Read more »
Each week, like a locavore finding the finest ears of corn in a farmer’s market, we choose our favorite Six-Word Memoirs among the thousands that grow in the fields of SMITH and SMITHTeens. Here are six six-worders we love from the week ending August 6. Click on each author’s name to check out more memoirs.
Best Imagery: “Black sheep bleached while family dyes.” —Wench Quickest Narrative Arc: “Man of Steel. Starting to rust.”–steve_anthony Most Positive Attitude: “Had chemo. Really cleared up pimples.”–oopsalittle Deepest: “Everyone has scars, Everyone has stories.” —HearUsNow, from our newest Six-Word Project, “Six Words on Hope and Pain” Best Pillow Talk: “We slept together over the phone.” —TheCatsPajamas, from SMITHTeens Least Likely to be Mentioned in AARP Mag: “Spontaneous nocturnal orgasms post-menopause. Yeah, baby!” —Jebcrg
Plus: Turn these or any six words into a T-shirt over on our shop at Spreadshirt (check out filmmaker Sam Zalutsky modeling his own six, above). Follow us on Twitter one Six-Word Memoir each day that will surely make your day just a little more interesting. Join our Facebook group, which is like therapy, at just a fraction of the cost.
Maybe it was the heat, but this week you had issues—hilarious and heartbreaking alike—and expressed them with the genius we’ve come to expect, in just six words. Here are six six-worders we love from the week ending July 30. Click on each author’s name to check out more memoirs.
Best Narrative Arc: “Achieved confidence through nudism, waitressing … separately.” —CBeth Worst Sense of Self: “I’m not schizophrenic. Neither am I.” —GoddessRock Best Sense of Self: “I said to myself, “Self, WTF?’” —ctgood2 (profile pic, above). Best Reason to Keep your Pokerface: “I never had a full deck.” —Passerby Most Dubious Use of Technology: “Accidentally hit ‘Reply All,’ lost job.” —Valhallarie Most Moving Use of the Dictionary: “Athazagoraphobia: The fear of being forgotten.” —Missmae, from SMITHTeens.
Plus: Free shipping from July 30-Aug. 1 if you’d like to turn these or any six words into a T-shirt over on our shop at Spreadshirt. Follow us on Twitter one Six-Word Memoir each day that will surely make your day just a little more interesting. Join our Facebook group where the sixes swing and hum, like a free jazz show in the summer.
