What Are Six-Word Memoirs? (writing exercises included) by Ananda Leeke, an excerpt from That Which Awakens Me

What Are Six-Word Memoirs? (writing exercises included)

Excerpt from That Which Awakens Me by Ananda Leeke (iUniverse, Inc. - Winter 2009)

A six-word memoir is a statement that tells a story about who you are and how you live your life. It expresses your identity, personality, emotions, family connections, personal interests, favorite things, wisdom, life philosophy/motto, beliefs, professions, and/or experiences. The rules that govern the six-word memoir writing process are very relaxed. You only need to use six words! They can come from any language you choose. Six-word memoirs are revolutionary because they don’t require you to follow English grammar rules. What a relief! You are free to write fragmented sentences, one word descriptions followed by a period or dash, six words that mirror a grocery list, or six words that no one can understand or relate to but yourself. Your six-word memoir is your gift to yourself. It can address one or more of the following areas (and other areas not mentioned below):

1) State of Being and Personal Reflection

Example: Woman seeking to understand inner self.

2) Ancestral Origins

Example: Descendant of Africans, Native Americans, Europeans

3) Family Connections

Examples:

Granddaughter of women with breast cancer.

Daughter of two educators and entrepreneurs.

Sister to three creatively expressive brothers.

4) Ethnicity, Sexual Orientation, Age, and Gender

Example: African American. Heterosexual. Fortysomething Female. Womanist.

5) Professions

Example: Artist. Writer. Yoga Teacher. Creativity Coach.

6) Spirituality and Healing

Examples:

A spiritual being having human experiences

Reiki Master Practitioner. Unitarian. Buddhist Meditator.

Refuge3/People of Color Sangha Member.

7) Popular Culture Labels

Example: Go Green BoHo BAP. Urban Debutante.

8) School Affiliations

Example: Setonite. Morganite. Howardite. Georgetown Law Grad.

9) Organizational Memberships

Example: Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc. Member.

10) Socioeconomic Status and Residence

Example: Middle Class. U Street DC Homeowner.

11) Political Affiliation

Example: Independent Registered Voter. Barack Obama Supporter.

Discovering Self Through Writing Practice Exercises

The following six-word memoir exercises are based on the book, Not Quite What I Was Planning – Six-Word Memoirs by Writers Famous and Obscure edited by SMITH Magazine (available on Amazon.com). Visit www.smithmag.net/sixwords.

Part A: Select five areas below. Write two six-word memoirs for each area. Take two minutes to write each six-word memoir.

1) State of Being and Personal Reflection
2) Ancestral Origins
3) Family Connections
4) Ethnicity, Sexual Orientation, Age, and Gender
5) Professions
6) Spirituality and Healing
7) Popular Culture Labels
8) School Affiliations
9) Organizational Memberships
10) Socioeconomic Status and Residence
11) Political Affiliation

Part B: Select one of the six-word-memoirs and begin writing a response to the following statement: what I really want to say about this six-word memoir is (fill in the blank with your own words). Don't censure your words. Don't read them. Just keep writing without stopping your pen for ten minutes.

Part C: Take five minutes to read over your writing and circle any words or phrases that you feel a strong attraction to.

Part D: Take five minutes to examine the words or phrases. Write down how three of the words or phrases reflect your personality, choices, or life experiences.

Part E: Take five minutes to write nonstop about how these writing practices affected you.

Part F: Take three minutes to read your writing.

Part G: Take five minutes to write about any new discoveries that you made about yourself through writing.