I've been talking to you about writing so that you make things clear to a reader but without overwhelming him with information he doesn't need or already knows.
For example "Mardi Gras celebration" is a word too much. There are few Mardi Gras funerals.
And "the tragic drowning of three boys" is silly. Seldom is the death of three children a comic event.
An article in the Albany Times-Union this weekend led me to a website you should check out at http://www.smithmag.net/. It is a collection of memoirs by people famous and not -- all done in six words.
Six words to sum up a life. Can't be done?
The article says Ernest Hemingway inspired the site when he was challenged to write a six-word novel and jotted: "For sale: baby shoes, never worn." (Hemingway, by the way, is the master of short stories and of prose that balances on the edge of telling readers only what they must be told and nothing more.)
Look at how some of these entries evoke laughter or sympathy or other emotions. Just a half-dozen words:
“Cursed with cancer, blessed with friends”
“I still make coffee for two”
"I like big butts, can’t lie"
"Had two brothers, now just one. "
"Planned world domination. Not there yet."
"Planned world domination. Not there yet."
This last item is an assignment in six words:
"NOW LET'S SEE YOU DO IT"
(Please post to your blogs by Monday morning. Thanks.)
3 comments:
I try to be different everyday.
Nice sentiment, but one problem here Bridget. "Everyday" means common, ordinary, as in: Jeans are my everyday costume of choice. It is not the same as every day. So your novel is actually a word too long. Rosemary
life is trying,loving,and learning.
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