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http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/asection/la-oe-smith5feb05,1,4531529.story?ctrack=1&cset=true



From the Los Angeles Times



Short on words, deep in meaning



When SMITH magazine asked readers for their six-word memoirs, the miniature life stories had huge impact.



By Larry Smith and Rachel Fershleiser



February 5, 2008



Everyone has a story. That's the tag on the masthead of SMITH, our online magazine. Yet until we asked the world to send us six-word memoirs, even we had no idea how true it was.



We took a page from Ernest Hemingway. According to legend, he was challenged to write a novel in only six words and came up with "For sale: baby shoes, never worn." We posed the same challenge online, but we asked for true-life stories -- in just half a dozen well-chosen words.



To launch the challenge, we posted examples from names we figured most readers would know, such as "Eat, Pray, Love" author Elizabeth Gilbert ("Me see world! Me write stories!"; she naturally e-mailed hers in from an airport runway in Indonesia) and celebrity chef Mario Batali (he sent seven, each enlightening but none as pitch-perfect as "Brought it to a boil, often").



More than 15,000 (and counting) submissions later, we arecontinually struck by what proves possible in just six words.



The short, short life stories keep coming in. As we type this, a quick glance reveals that Emily Hambridge "wanted to write but feared failure." With half a dozen words and a few clicks of the keyboard, she's just rewritten the story of her life.



What's yours?



Ex-wife and contractor now have house.



-- Drew Peck



Wasn't born a redhead; fixed that.



-- Andie Grace



Chinese immigrant loathing drama in Anaheim.



-- Eric Wong



Can't tonight, watching "Law & Order."



-- Rory Evans



Found true love, married someone else.



-- Bjorn Stromberg



Fifteen years since last professional haircut.



-- Dave Eggers



One tooth, one cavity, life's cruel.



-- John Bettencourt



Must remember: people, gadgets. That order.



-- Brian Lam



Made a mess. Cleaned it up.



-- Amy Anderson



Hockey is not just for boys.



-- Alexandra Duplin



Put whole self in, shook about.



-- Melissa Delzio



My second-grade teacher was right.



-- Janelle Brown



Well, I thought it was funny.



-- Stephen Colbert



Where the hell are my keys?



-- Brady Udall



Dad wore leather pants in Reno.



-- John Falk



Secret of life: Marry an Italian.



-- Nora Ephron



Little bit Lucy, tempered by Ethel.



--Tami Maus



I think, therefore I am bald.



-- Dickie Widjaja



Took scenic route, got in late.



-- Will Blythe



Being a monk stunk. Better gay.



-- Bob Redman



Became my mother. Please shoot me.



-- Cynthia Kaplan



Should not have eaten those mushrooms.



-- Emilie Raguso



Was father, boys died, still sad.



-- Ronald Zalewski



ABCs MTV SATs THC IRA NPR.



-- Jancee Dunn



It's pretty high. You go first.



-- Alan Eagle



Me: consistently avoiding death since 1978!



-- Daniel Fowlkes



New Jersey to California. Thank God.



-- Ayelet Waldman



I still make coffee for two.



-- Zak Nelson



It was embarrassing, so don't ask.



-- Alex Lindquist



Larry Smith, founder of the online magazine SMITH, and Rachel Fershleiser are the co-editors of "Not Quite What I Was Planning: Six-Word Memoirs by Writers Famous & Obscure." Read/submit memoirs at smithmag.net.

Carry on.

Carry on.