The document provides instructions for writing a six-word memoir. It explains that Larry Smith challenged readers of his publication to describe their lives in six words, inspired by Ernest Hemingway's famous short story. Over 500,000 mini-memoirs have been submitted. The instructions guide writers through listing words about themselves, circling inspiring words, freewriting about a word, synthesizing the freewrite into a six-word phrase, and creating a final draft with a paragraph elaborating on the six words.

1. Writing a six-word
memoir...
In order to narrow down a life into six words, a
writer needs to begin with many words and ideas.
Follow these instructions to complete a six-word
memoir…

2. Writing a six-word
memoir...
In November 2006, writer and editor Larry Smith
issued a challenge to fans of his Web publication,
SMITH Magazine.
Inspired by Ernest Hemingway's legendary shortest
of short stories ("For sale: Baby shoes, never
worn"), Smith asked his readers to describe their
lives in six words. The Six-Word Memoir contest
officially ended after a month, but the stories kept
coming.
Five years on, participants have contributed more
than half a million mini-memoirs. Smith has published
five compilations of the intensely personal accounts
and continues his online quest to spark the creativity
of aspiring writers.
"There is inspiration everywhere," he says. "Even
if you don't think you're a storyteller, you are."

3. Six-word memoirs...
Dolores Tuffin
Free falling, ready for my future
Jennifer Boire
Spiritual being having a human experience
Snabors
Taking each step tenaciously and joyfully
Cindy Starry
Flow within your heart's joy forever
danisue1
Hula hooping life, looking for balance
leslie_bal
nobody loves you like your mother!?!?!?!
samiam_am
Searching, finding, winning, losing, happy, sad!

4. Six-word memoirs...
Best Wordplay:
“Meditation: Personal search engine via inner-net.” -trust2020
Funniest:
“15,000 days spent considering a bellybutton.” -Anstey
Most Sensory:
“Hardwired for coupling. Short-circuited being single.” -TawnyPort
Most Circular:
“Dad’s baby now changing Dad’s diapers.” –eileenpat
Most Self-Aware:
“Won’t let magazines shape my body.” -songwriter
Bonus #7—Celebrity Six-Worder of the Week:
“Not funny. Funny. Not funny. Funny?” - Jimmy Fallon.
”Wishing sadness and geometry made sense.” - Grounded Clouds

5. Start with a list
List as many words, topics, memories,
or personality traits as you can about
yourself – activities you do, items,
belongings, places you like, and
feelings you have. Don’t edit, cross
out, change, or rewrite words. Don’t
worry about spelling – just write. You
are going for quantity, so write as
much as you can in about three
minutes. You should fill at least one
full page.

6. Example list:
Singer, writer, happy, tired, overworked,
camping, colorful, shoes, sea shore,
dragons, faeries, teacher, Spanish,
Internet, laughing, cartoons, 70s, rock
music, Jeep, teddy bears, church, baths,
jingles, gum, crayons, super heroes,
technology, legos, reading, Saturday
morning, dancing, weight lifting, Ziggy,
more shoes, sunrises, mother,
daughters, snakes, dogs, mythology,
thinking, dreamer, fries…

7. Now, circle the two or three
words that stand out for you,
the ones that you could say
more about.

8. Example list:
Singer, writer, happy, tired,
overworked, camping, colorful, shoes,
sea shore, dragons, faeries, teacher,
Spanish, Internet, laughing, cartoons,
70s, rock music, Jeep, teddy bears,
church, long baths, jingles, gum,
crayons, super heroes, technology,
legos, reading, Saturday morning,
dancing, weight lifting, Ziggy, more
shoes, sunrises, mother, daughters,
snakes, dogs, mythology, thinking,
dreamer, fries

9. Pick one item and freewrite about the thought.
That means you just start writing about that
idea, object, role, or event. The only rule is
don’t stop writing for at least two or three
minutes. Whatever comes to mind is fair game.
Example: mother

10. Freewrite example…
I’ve been a mother for 25 years and
have 3 2/5 kids. This means that two
are step-children. They do not want
me to be their mother, but they want
their mother to be me. This is a
difficult situation that will never be
resolved. As for my other three
children, I have a daughter and two
sons. I have learned that being a
parent is by far the hardest thing I
have ever done. I am not only
responsible...

11. Freewrite continued…
...for myself but also for the lives
of two other people (the other 3 are
grown-ups now). I can only control so
much of what they do and no matter
how much I think something is right or
wrong, they will end up doing what
they want. Sometimes they are right,
but sometimes they aren’t so right.
Then the consequences hurt,
especially when they have to pay for
choices that I might have been able to
help them avoid.

12. Synthesize
As a result of the freewrite, you have a
sense of your topic. Synthesize your
writing (combine the individual elements
into an understandable whole), into a
phrase that captures the essence or
nuance of what your topic means to you.
The topic of the previous writer was
“mother.” Her idea captured the struggle
of helping someone go through life’s
lessons and dealing with one's own lack of
control.

13. a 6-word memoir…
Helping them grow ages me daily.

14. Now, go back to the
freewrite…
Re-craft the freewrite into an
effective 5-step paragraph that
offers an engaging lead, clarifies,
elaborates, offers at least two
specific, detailed examples, and
concludes in an effort to capture
the memoir’s meaning.

15. Now create a final six-word-memoir by using
these steps:
1. Create a “you” list – fill the page.
2. Pick 2 – 3 items that inspire you to say more.
3. From those items you circled, select one.
4. Freewrite about your idea for several minutes/a full page or two.
5. Develop a 6-word phrase that captures a sense of your writing.
6. Self-Edit: Make at least one type of change--word choice, varying
sentences, or punctuation.
7. 2nd Draft: Conference with another student or parent.
8. Go back to your freewrite. Produced an effective 5-step paragraph
that offers an engaging lead, clarifies, elaborates, offers at least
two specific, detailed examples, and concludes in an effort to
capture the memoir’s meaning from the freewrite.
9. Final Draft: Create your 6-word memoir and create a PowerPoint
slide or drawing/photo with the six-word memoir so you have a
background picture(s). Print or send me your slide (through
Email or Edmodo).

16. Details & Examples:
Create a single PowerPoint slide or
drawing/photo that captures you and
include your 6-word memoir.
NOTE: A slide without the paragraph = only half of the
assignment = 50%

17. Six-word-memoir example paragraph #1:
Inner cowboy adrift on literate shores.
My rural, Cracker-cowboy, Florida childhood took a
detour when my parents were divorced, and I spent my teenage
years on the beaches of Florida's west coast. My passion for
reading led me in and out of college and along twisted paths and
hallways of educational institutions. A variety of teaching
positions on several levels actually enhanced my appreciation of
well-written literature. Teaching Shakespeare, Frost, Poe, and
Macdonald have offered stimulating journeys that invigorate the
mind. My explorations continue when youthful intellects engage
and share the adventures.

18. Inner cowboy adrift on literate shores

19. Six-word-memoir example #2 with a
paragraph:
Seeking home, balance outside a turbulent world
Being adopted as a child gave me a different perspective
on what it means to feel at home. I discovered early on that biology
has nothing to do with belonging or not belonging. I have
constantly sought a sense of balance throughout my life,
sometimes successfully, sometimes not. Balance can be found in
a piece of literature or music that helps make sense of the world,
often in interactions with family and friends. At other times this
sense has been present in the give and take of a relationship or
assisting others in need. In a most basic form, a sense of balance
can be present amid silence, the simplicity of waves crashing on a
shoreline, or a breathtaking sunrise away from the chaos of the
world. I have discovered that balance and the feeling of home can
be both internal and external and often is present in the unlikeliest
of places.

20. Seeking home, balance outside a turbulent world