Six-Word memoir

Let’s play with the wording, by omitting words For sale: Baby shoes, never worn. Baby shoes, never worn. What effect is created by the omission of “For sale”? It removes the premise (the marketplace, the classified ad), the sadness and pathetic quality. What about removing “never worn”? What impact is lost when “never worn” is omitted? For sale: Baby shoes. Removes the notion that they may never have been worn due to the death of a child.

Let’s focus on diction For sale: Baby shoes, never worn. Why “never worn” and not “never used”? For sale: Baby shoes, never used. Worn connotes wearing more intimately than used ever could. Used has a more neutral, almost negative connotation. Used connotes consumable, a product that is used and then tossed; whereas baby shoes are often a cherished keepsake for many parents. Worn connotes wearing more intimately than used ever could. Used has a more neutral, almost negative connotation. Used connotes consumable, a product that is used and then tossed; whereas baby shoes are often a cherished keepsake for many parents.

Let’s look at punctuation For sale: Baby shoes, never worn. Why the colon? Why not … Baby shoes, never worn, for sale. The colon implies a classified ad in a paper. The reader is compelled to imagine the grief of the mother, or father, listing the ad, having to relive the moment and further endure the agony while listing an impersonal ad to sell a very personal artifact from a family tragedy.

Let’s look at punctuation For sale: Baby shoes, never worn. Why the comma separating “shoes” and “never”? For sale: Baby shoes never worn. For sale: Baby shoes that were never worn. The comma highlights the “modifier” never worn, whereas to omit would not. The comma highlights the “modifier” never worn, whereas to omit would not. To put a period between the two would be too stark, too much on your nose, reading like a punchline. It would remove that sense of “not getting it” and then “getting it,” and thus remove the “aha moment.”

Choose your words wisely As Twain put it, “The difference between the almost right word and the right word is really a large matter. ’tis the difference between the lightning bug and the lightning.”

What is a memoir? A memoir is a written factual account of somebody’s life. A literary memoir is usually about a specific theme, or about a part of someone’s life, as it is a story with a proper narrative shape, focus and subject matter, involving reflection on some particular events or places.

Now, it’s your turn to create a six-word memoir Think of an important moment from your life. Relate this moment to your readers, the class, with just six words. You can use whatever words you like and whatever type of punctuation you need to get this idea across. As a note, this is not an inspirational message, the kind you would find hanging framed in someone’s office. This is a memoir, relating an event and the mood of the event effectively and briefly. Tomorrow, the class will have a gallery walk, to give you an idea of what other students are doing, to ask questions, and to provide constructive feedback. We will take a look at a few examples together.

Heart, hoarse and murmuring. Words: Electric.

Another house, another school...alone again.