bookbabie

my art, my photos, my words…my little life

6 word memoir meme

Posted on February 18, 2008 by Lilli Day aka bookbabie

As I read yet another book review of a memoir this weekend, my husband told me that I should write one. I said that my story would be much too short and rather boring so when I ran across the following book I decided it was just my speed. A six word memoir! Written by Larry Smith and Rachel Fershleiser, Not Quite What I was Planning: Six Word Memoirs by Writers Famous and Obscure is a compilation based on the story that Hemingway once bet ten dollars that he could sum up his life in six words. His words were- For Sale: baby shoes, never worn. There’s a video on Amazon with examples from the book, it sounds like a fun read! I’d like to start a six word memoir meme and here are the rules:

1. Write your own six word memoir

2. Post it on your blog and include a visual illustration if you’d like

3. Link to the person that tagged you in your post and to this original post if possible so we can track it as it travels across the blogosphere

4 .Tag five more blogs with links

5. And don’t forget to leave a comment on the tagged blogs with an invitation to play!

It was actually a lot more difficult that I thought it would be, but here’s mine…

This too shall pass, I hope.

I tag Melynn at Breathing Easy, Sandy at My Inner Edge, Lisa at Books on the Brain, Janie at Ragamuffins, and Fighting Windmills.

If you haven’t been tagged but would like to participate go ahead and copy and paste this post to initiate your own string of the game, or post a comment with your 6 word memoir and I’ll post them later:)

**Blonde Momentos added a link to Smith Magazine on her memoir post where you can go and leave your memoir, they are collecting them for book #2!

173 thoughts on “6 word memoir meme”

Pingback: 6 Word Memoir Meme « Breathing Easy
mansuetude on February 18, 2008 at 12:42 pm said:

this looks fascinating… i will have to come and see what it gives birth to!!

in my heart, i think you have a bunch of other versions, too. 🙂
lisamm on February 18, 2008 at 1:26 pm said:

Thanks for tagging me, bookbabie. With just 6 words to work with, you really have to cut to the chase. Here’s my answer:

http://lisamm.wordpress.com/2008/02/18/6-word-memoir-meme/
janie on February 19, 2008 at 6:22 am said:

Delighted to be tagged with such an interesting idea,
just finding it very hard so i might be a while:)
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imageguy on February 19, 2008 at 9:26 am said:

Daddy died, Mom cried, I lied.
Julie Stiles Mills on February 19, 2008 at 11:21 am said:

Thanks for the visit and the comment! Your photography (visited your website) is wonderful. I may actually try this meme. You’ve got me thinking anyway.
suz on February 19, 2008 at 3:24 pm said:

here’s mine 🙂 – really made me think for this.
http://sperlygirl.typepad.com/sperlygirl/2008/02/6-word-memoir-m.html
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kt40 on February 20, 2008 at 1:37 am said:

bookbabie- thanks for the game what a challenge and what fun! Your words really seem to be coming from the woman in your photo. kt
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julia on February 20, 2008 at 3:33 pm said:

i had to try it! And i see you already found me 😉
Here’s the link to mine:
http://lifesinterruptions.blogspot.com/2008/02/6-word-memoir-meme.html
rik on February 20, 2008 at 4:23 pm said:

so very clever, bookbabie! loads of fun. =] did you really start this yourself? kudos for the creativity! i’m really going to have to think about this and see if I can come up with something…
bookbabie on February 20, 2008 at 4:44 pm said:

Yes rik, I did, and it’s not even my book that’s getting all this free promotion:) Do join in the fun!
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Sarah on February 27, 2008 at 10:38 pm said:

Very fun. Link is here:
http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/SmallWorld/489121/
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kristinamarina on February 28, 2008 at 1:21 pm said:

Thanks for a great idea~
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enreal on February 29, 2008 at 10:30 am said:

This was a wonderful project…not as easy as simple as you would think? To condense a life into a memoir of only six words…brilliant, why waste time 😉
rosieswhimsy on February 29, 2008 at 10:52 am said:

Excellent! I wanted to track this one back and see who started it. This is one really made you think. very creative. Thanks! 🙂 Rosie
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Greg Rappleye on March 1, 2008 at 12:16 pm said:

Done!
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SurfaceEarth on March 2, 2008 at 11:13 am said:

🙂 Lovely, amazing how your family’s thought began its travel…I inherited this from Enreal and I too passed it around.
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Jill on March 2, 2008 at 1:25 pm said:

I was tagged for this meme.

Here is my post:
http://mrstreme.livejournal.com/36083.html

“Life is short. Smile a lot.”
Betty @ She's Sew Pretty on March 2, 2008 at 10:51 pm said:

Thank you for starting this wonderful meme. I really had to think about it.

Betty at http://shessewpretty.typepad.com/
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Miss Jean on March 3, 2008 at 2:50 pm said:

Thanks for starting this. It’s great fun. Not as easy as it seems.
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laketrees on March 5, 2008 at 6:07 pm said:

lovely image Bookbabie and your words …
I found myself nodding my head in agreement 🙂
Dawn Winton on March 6, 2008 at 4:00 pm said:

Bookbabie, the ironic thing about my meme “Constantly surprised at being a grown-up” is I’ve been one for a VERY long time. LOL. 4 kids, degrees, jobs, still amazes the 10 year old in my soul. Glad I found your blog, and website, I’ll stay in touch.
Dawn
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Juliette on March 7, 2008 at 5:09 pm said:

I was tagged for this meme. Mine was

‘gifted to share hope and love’

My post is here with picture!
http://juliette-m-m.livejournal.com/25661.html

Thanks for hosting = )
Kathiesbirds on March 8, 2008 at 3:01 pm said:

Here’s my Six Word Memoir at Sycamore Canyon: http://coronadetucson.blogspot.com
Kathiesbirds on March 8, 2008 at 3:03 pm said:

Here’s my Six Word Memoir at Sycamore Canyon: http://coronadetucson.blogspot.com
Mary Carlson on March 8, 2008 at 3:49 pm said:

Sorry for being so slow to link this – here is my link: http://medlibber.blogspot.com/2008/03/six-word-memoir-meme.html

It sure was challenging to do, but fun, too.
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Cele on March 12, 2008 at 11:39 am said:

Tagged by Chronicle of Tewkesburg Place

OhJoyitsme.blogspot.com
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libby on March 17, 2008 at 10:58 pm said:

i read an article about this and just posted about it myself. it’s absolutely fascinating, this concept!

http://chasinglibby.wordpress.com
Angie on March 18, 2008 at 11:04 am said:

Hi! I played too. Touch of the Phoenix
Natalie on March 21, 2008 at 12:24 am said:

Okay I played Trapped
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Laquet on March 24, 2008 at 2:36 am said:

Hello I was tagged by Andy (see above) and I have played – quite a challenge, just 6 words but my offering is here.
Dave on March 25, 2008 at 4:17 pm said:

‘ere you go!

http://osagegroup.blogspot.com/2008/03/muddy-boots-make-heart-light.html
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Phyl on April 9, 2008 at 9:33 pm said:

I am thrilled you started this meme! I had considered doing it myself…lol.

My memoir is up….feel free to snag the graphic I made and offer it to folks to add theirs to.
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Phyl on April 14, 2008 at 10:16 am said:

Come and get ur linky love…
http://tinyurl.com/6qcyg3
Xandra on April 16, 2008 at 7:51 pm said:

What a great meme! Thanks for getting it started. You can find my response at http://heart-of-service.blogspot.com/2008/04/six-word-memoir.html

Xandra
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Al-Duce on April 23, 2008 at 11:15 pm said:

Mine is “Have you seen my imaginary friend?” It’s on lj, but the entry is friend-locked:

http://lady-bedivere.livejournal.com/353156.html
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Melissa @ Breath of life on April 30, 2008 at 1:25 pm said:

Mine’s up!
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Casey on May 22, 2008 at 11:11 pm said:

I played too!http://quilaotriplets.blogspot.com/2008/05/6-word-memoir-meme.html
Elyse on May 24, 2008 at 10:18 pm said:

Just played and would like to say that this is a great game!
Busted on May 31, 2008 at 8:02 am said:

I was just tagged for this and created mine. Thanks for starting this!
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Manda on June 4, 2008 at 3:10 pm said:

http://herebaby.blogspot.com/2008/06/six-word-memior.html
Kelly on June 5, 2008 at 3:35 pm said:

http://timkellyjenna.blogspot.com/2008/06/6-word-memoir-blog-tag.html
Sam on June 8, 2008 at 5:42 am said:

I got tagged!!! Here’s my six word memoir!
Jean on June 9, 2008 at 11:48 pm said:

Thoughtful exercise.

Here’s what I came up with.

Living example. Golden rule. Planned worrier.
Zack on June 10, 2008 at 10:38 am said:

Thanks for bringing this exercise to everyone. It brought out things I haven’t consciencely thought of in a long time.

“Help people. Be useful. Improve.”

And I think you have a good point about my ending being too harsh. It doesn’t fit the rest. I improved it. 🙂
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Umm Yasmin on June 18, 2008 at 9:46 pm said:

G’day – I’ve posted my contribution at Dervish.
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nathaliewithanh on June 23, 2008 at 9:21 pm said:

Here is my contribution to the discovery of my profound moi…

http://nathaliewithanh.wordpress.com/2008/06/23/mon-six-word-memoir-or-epitaph/
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Alex Fayle on June 26, 2008 at 9:49 am said:

Through the wonders of the Internet, your challenge ended up at my blog today. Not quite sure of the connections, but thanks for starting it! I enjoyed writing my memoir.

http://someday.typepad.com/blog/2008/06/my-memoir.html
NP on June 26, 2008 at 3:38 pm said:

http://coffee-stainedwriter.blogspot.com/2008/06/six-word-memoir.html
w1kkp on June 26, 2008 at 5:15 pm said:

I’ve never seen so many comments on one post. My SIX WORD MEMOIR is here:
http://singleforareason.wordpress.com
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Arkay on June 26, 2008 at 9:05 pm said:

So, this is where it all began. Ok, here’s mine:

http://pessimisticidealist.wordpress.com/2008/06/26/tagged-dammit/
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spatulahandle on June 29, 2008 at 1:15 pm said:

It took me a little while to think of something, but I got it…and I had fun doing it!
http://spatulahandle.wordpress.com/2008/06/27/im-iti-got-tagged/
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Leah on July 3, 2008 at 6:26 am said:

I got tagged and just posted my meme here:

http://leahswritersblog.blogspot.com/2008/07/six-word-memoir.html
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kristenkj on August 5, 2008 at 8:27 pm said:

I just got tagged…mine will be up tomorrow.

http://nosmallthing.wordpress.com
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Katie on August 10, 2008 at 2:32 pm said:

Way more fun than I anticipated. Great idea!
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RaiulBaztepo on March 28, 2009 at 8:15 pm said:

Hello!
Very Interesting post! Thank you for such interesting resource!
PS: Sorry for my bad english, I’v just started to learn this language 😉
See you!
Your, Raiul Baztepo
sandrar on September 10, 2009 at 10:42 am said:

Hi! I was surfing and found your blog post… nice! I love your blog. 🙂 Cheers! Sandra. R.
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Carl Hahn on December 11, 2010 at 6:22 pm said:

My memoir in six words. You have got to be kidding. I’ll try and work at it. Very interesting.
Jun-Jun on January 14, 2011 at 2:32 pm said:

What a fun little game. I love your visual choice and your words; I think they suit you quite well. Thank you for sharing this fun post.
Most Popular Books on March 18, 2011 at 6:57 am said:

Hemingway was simply a King of words. It is however valid only as a game, because it would be folly to try summing up the life of giants like Einstein or Gandhi in so few words.
Mew Maurer on April 5, 2011 at 9:34 am said:

Thanks for the article that I have read! God bless!
storage sheds on July 6, 2013 at 9:09 pm said:

Hi! I’ve been reading your web site for some time now and finally got the courage to go ahead and give you a shout out from Porter Tx! Just wanted to tell you keep up the great job!

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