I’ve got a few memes to follow up on. Blogging’s been tough this week but Expat tagged me with one that felt manageable, as I could more or less write it in the span of a single shower. The challenge: write your memoir in six words or less. It’s based on a bet that Hemingway once made — that he couldn’t write a story in six words. He could, and he did:
For sale: Baby shoes. Never worn.
(for the record, he apparently considered it his finest piece of writing).
Smith magazine, not the College’s publication, but the writing ‘zine, offered a similar challenge, by the way. They published the results in a book, and you can read the entries here. But forget them. This one is all about me.
A number have occurred to me, including the self-deprecating:
Other folks are this flawed. Maybe.
Distractable? Nah, I’m just…Hey! Food!
Crack myself up. Laugh alone, mostly.
I also considered the romantic-in-its-own-way:
He loves me. Not clear why.
I’d choose this madness again, Darling!
We laugh often. And smooch…sometimes.
And there is, of course, the vaguely desperate:
Kids holler. Dogs bark. Wine, please.
And the inevitable food entries:
Learned about food. Then about fear.
Shooting for healthy. Kids prefer chips.
Started cooking. Stopped cleaning. Mice thrilled.
But I think the one that feels most right, most honest, is (drumroll, please!):
Intentions good. Reality harder. Hello, Hell!
Now, according to the rules, I have to tag some others with this meme. So, I tag…YOU. That’s right, YOU.
(yes, why are you looking around saying “who, me?” Of course I mean YOU).
Look, here’s the thing: I really think that this is kind of fascinating, like taking a quick snapshot of someone’s brain (”People’s inner workings revealed. But quickly” – look, I can’t stop doing it!). Besides which, I’m not that much of a rule-player (“Forget rules. Never liked ‘em, anyway” Okay, stop it already!).
How would you guys would sum yourselves up in six words? It’s a fun challenge. Plus? You can do it in the shower. And it’s only six words. Unless, like me, you find you can’t stop. (In the shower, six words multiply).
Cool idea. I am going to use this meme next week.
Love my work, don’t know why
Climate changing. Hyperventilating. Learn, act, hope.
Menapausal mommy, wife, rescuer, seeking balance.
Came up with it late last night while trying to fall asleep. Needless to say I fell asleep with a smile on my face. Thanks for the great exercise….it was actually pretty rewarding.
Steak tasted odd. Cook is grinning.
Cook in jail. Steak tasted funny.
I’m hooked! I saw an article about this book but never got going, thanks for the nudge.
For today:
Struggles to see joy through details.
or perhaps:
L’s mama. When is happy hour?
Have you seen the piece the New Yorker magazine published about this book? It’s a two column article, concise, poetic and descriptive, written entirely in sixc word sentences. Take a look: http://www.newyorker.com/talk/2008/02/25/080225ta_talk_widdicombe/?yrail
Here’s a sample:
Brevity: a good thing in writing. Exploited by texters, gossip columnists, haikuists. Not associated with the biography genre. But then—why shouldn’t it be? Life expectancies rise; attention spans shrink. Six words can tell a story. That’s a new book’s premise, anyway. “Not Quite What I Was Planning.” A compilation of teeny tiny memoirs. The forebear, it’s assumed, is Hemingway. (Legend: he wrote a miniature masterpiece. “For sale: baby shoes, never worn.” Slightly sappy, but a decent sixer.)
Hey, lady! My friend John asked me what MY six-word memoir would be, and I said, “I’ll have to think about it.” Now I can’t get any further!
I could have lived in luxury.
Not that she will ever know.
I’m the most Miscarrying harlot, indeed.
I’m cleaving like such a baby.
She jumps my ken: nothing new.
And I like Heather’s last sentence. NOW I CAN’T GET ANY FURTHER. But I can’t stop either, Ali.
Well done, you six-word biographers!
As for feefifoto’s review…oh my!
It’s really quite brilliant, I think. Every single sentence: just six words. Wish I’d thought to do that. A whole post, six word chunks. I would have felt so clever. But I didn’t, so I don’t. Alas, sometimes ideas come too late. Thanks for playing, clever, clever friends.
Haven’t done yours? Go write now!
Come on – we’re all waiting here.
It gets easier as you go.
i work as a cook at whole foods, so here’s mine…
Cooking for rich people. Eating cereal.