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Why have so many writing teachers adopted Not Quite What I Was Planning: Six-Word Memoirs by Writers Famous and Obscure? Because it a treasure trove of topics for classroom discussion and writing assignments. Not only is the six-word memoir a terrific writing exercise, the examples in the book can be used to prompt longer writing assignments. When Hemingway famously wrote, ''For Sale: baby shoes, never worn,'' he proved that an entire story can be told using a half dozen words. When the online storytelling magazine SMITH asked readers to submit six-word memoirs, they proved a whole, real life can be told this way too. The results are fascinating, hilarious, shocking, and moving. From small sagas of bittersweet romance (''Found true love, married someone else'') to proud achievements and stinging regrets (''After Harvard, had baby with crackhead''), these terse true tales relate the diversity of human experience in tasty bite-sized pieces. From authors Jonathan Lethem and Richard Ford to comedians Stephen Colbert and Amy Sedaris, to ordinary folks around the world, everyone has a six-word story to tell.
About the author
LARRY SMITH is an adjunct associate professor of economics at the University of Waterloo and a recipient of the University of Waterloo’s Distinguished Teacher Award. During his longstanding tenure, Smith has taught and counselled more than 23,000 students on the subject of their careers, representing more than 10 percent of UW’s alumni. Smith has worked with more than 500 teams of student entrepreneurs, advising them as they have created companies of significant size and success across industries as broad-reaching as communications, software, robotics, entertainment, design and real estate. Smith is also president of Essential Economics Corporation, an economic consulting practice that serves a wide range of public and private clients. “Why You Will Fail to have a Great Career,” his TEDx Talk based on his experience counselling students, has been viewed by over six million people.
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"Perfect for the American attention span...Will thrill minimalists and inspire maximalists." Vanity Fair
