The Six-Word Memoir A memoir is like an auto-biography; however, it generally focuses on one period of a person’s life. "For sale: Baby shoes, never worn” – Ernest Hemmingway Six-Word Memoirs share the same characteristics as any narrative. The difference is that the reader must fill-in- the-blanks or infer some elements of the plot. Like in poetry word choice is of the utmost importance. Each word is specifically chosen for effect.

Let’s Read a Few… We kissed. She melted. Mop please! Failed SAT. Lost scholarship. Invented rocket. T.H.C., L.S.D., D.U.I., C.P.R., D.O.A., R.I.P. I’m beside myself, cloning machine works I leave. Dog panics. Furniture shopping.

Practice in Pairs 1.Find your shoulder partner 2.Get a Six-Word Narrative from Mrs. Stuckey 3.Come up with your explanation of the story behind the story. 4.Share with the class.

Six-Word Narrative You are going to write a Six-Word Memoir about a specific period or aspect of yourself. Remember, the best writers start by writing what they know. In order to narrow down a story into six words, a writer needs to begin with many words and ideas. Follow these instructions to complete a six-word narrative.

Step 1 – Pre-Writing Start with a list List as many words, topics, memories, or personality traits as you can about yourself or about a story you’d like to tell– 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 five minutes. You should fill at least one full page.

Example list: Mother, coffee, tired, cheerios everywhere, snakes, tantrums, sippy cups, laughter, teacher, piles of papers, power points, chatter, coffee, laughter, sweat, donuts, talking, talking, talking, exhaustion, smiles, spring, sunshine, running, Lakeshore, sprinting down hallways, laughter, homework, tantrums, stupid, crying, cheezits, sleeping, Netflix, Uverse, Facebook, quiet, wrinkles, anxiety, awake

Now, circle the two or three words that stand out for you, the ones that you could say more about. Step 2 – Pick three words

Example list: Mother, coffee, tired, cheerios everywhere, snakes, tantrums, sippy cups, laughter, teacher, piles of papers, power points, chatter, coffee, laughter, sweat, donuts, talking, talking, talking, exhaustion, smiles, spring, sunshine, running, Lakeshore, sprinting down hallways, laughter, homework, tantrums, stupid, crying, cheezits, sleeping, Netflix, Uverse, Facebook, quiet, wrinkles, anxiety, awake

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. mother Step 3 – Free Write

I’ve been a mother for 6 years. Both of my children are “spirited”. My daughter is six going on thirteen. She does not want me to be her mother, but she wants her mother to be me. This is a difficult situation that will never be resolved. I have learned that being a parent is by far the hardest thing I have ever done. I am not only responsible... Freewrite example…

...for myself but also for the lives of two other people. 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. I sometimes mourn my life before kids, and then I feel guilty. Things come out of my mouth and I become my mother sounding much older than I actually feel. Freewrite continued …

As a result of the freewrite, you have a sense of your topic. Synthesize, combine the individual elements into an understandable whole, your writing into a phrase that captures the essence of what your topic means to you. My topic was “mother.” This idea captured the struggle of helping someone go through life’s lessons and dealing with one's own lack of control. Step 4 – Synthesizing/Drafting

Helping them grow ages me daily. I am getting older; for example, I see pictures of former classmates on Facebook, and I think about how old they look. Still, I don’t feel old, part of me still feels fifteen – it’s why I teach. Plus I don’t like to be negative. So… Helping them grow ages me daily. Helping them grow keeps me young. Step 5 - Draft… Step 6 - Revise…

Now create a final six-word narrative by using these steps: 1.Create a 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 Mrs. Stuckey. 8.Create your 6-Word Memoir final draft in the writers tab of your binder. Draw a border around it so that it is clear!