Posts
Lee, over at Quit Your Day Job has set everyone the following meme challenge.
Write a memoir of your life using only six words.
This whole six word thing comes from Hemingway, who once said that the best story he'd ever written was 'For sale: baby shoes, never worn.' (Personally, I prefer The Old Man And The Sea.) The Guardian recently gave the same challenge to a group of contemporary authors. My favourites were Hari Kunzru's 'Stop me before I kill again.' and Will Self's 'Pain, unutterable pain, stertorous exhalation. Death.' (You have to hand it to Self - he's got six words and decides that one of them just has to be 'stertorous'*!) But to tell your own life story in just six words... particularly when (hopefully) there's a lot more to come? Tricky. Or perhaps not. Perhaps my effort is just desperately obvious...
Born to write. Couldn't stop trying.
It's an interesting exercise that forces you to examine just how you define yourself in the world. Is it through your job, your family, your ambition, your personality... or something else entirely? Why not have a go... and let me know what you come up with.
*Don't worry, I had to look it up too. It's something to do with heavy snoring.
23 rants and reactions:
I think it does say a lot about you even if you feel it's obvious.
"Take this instead. My life's secret."
How does that do ya?
born consumed wanked smoked fucked died
hows about that then?
Always meticulous about counting words. Bugger.
I should clarify, the word "bugger" should, really, have an exclamation point, and be a word uttered in exasperation as a result of the previous sentence, rather than being descriptive of my life - although I am still young and have so many new things to look forward to, so who knows?
Don't interrupt me when I'm eulogising!
Once forward. Twice back. Looks familiar.
His intentions were his best feature.
(Nice one, Vicus Scurra!)
Lee - maybe it says *I'm* obvious.
Douglas - you're an enigma wrapped up in a mystery, folded inside a chicken fajita wrap.
Davey - cheery as ever.
Vicus - sorry, once written it's set in stone. You can't bugger about with it now.
TW - I considered an alternative example for myself similar to this. It would have been, "I SAID 'Get Away From Me!"
Steve - maybe you ought to try another direction. ;-)
Brother T - something we should all aim for.
This particular meme has really been doing the rounds...
I'm not sure, but it may have started at Smith. I'd got the impression that we got to write more then one, in much the same way that Jordan/Katie Price keeps releasing auto-bios.
Katie Price is my role model.
There you go, that one's free.
Oh god, once you start communicating in six word chunks, it's hard to stop.
For my part, I posted mine to Smith a few days ago. It was:
"I blame your parents. Mine too."
Which doesn't seem very clever, in light of everyone elses...!
I never asked to be here
'six words, let me think: love'
Nick - I don't have the first clue what 'Smith' is. And my parents are completely blameless in your regard, honest.
Richard - no-one ever asks to be here.
Eamon - you old romantic, you.
Rol - Yeah, I didn't know what Smith was either. It's a weird online magazine, that is high on Oooh, but quite low on content, I think.
Also, well, I suspect that I was thinking about some past girlfriend when I wrote that..!
Meme-oir? Very droll!
Seen on the door of the Old Kent Road men's hostel in the 1960's apparently was the following legend
'Socks and underpants needed
No time wasters.'
Oh dear, that's seven words.
Lose the word 'time' and it works in 6.
Six words? I can't say anything in less than 200? Um . . .
"Being concise was never her forte."
I"m sure any statement about me should include the words "Rioja" and "cheese" but my brain aches now!
That'll be all the Rioja!
is it cheating to use other people's catch phrases (that's not my six word meme BTW)
big friendly yellow letters: DON'T PANIC
and if I did:
Dr Pepper! Whassa worst'd could happen?
in which case:
Who you gonna call? Ghost Busters!
(I've had a sad sad life)
Two can play that game...
"With great power comes great responsibility."
Or how about...
"Don't make me angry, you wouldn't like..."
Damn! Ran out.
actually, I quite like "two can play at that game"
;-)
The heroine in 'Sarah's Price' is using a pay phone in a passageway below a cafe.
A hand traces from the nape of her neck all the way down her spine.
She knows she has to turn around and kiss the man behind her who she finds repulsive.
In front of her scrawled on the wall are the words:
'Die now pay later! Free no obligation trial – guaranteed five point plan'
Ooops, thats 12 words :-)
Post a Comment