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LIFE IN SIX WORDS



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In the 1920s, Ernest Hemingway bet ten dollars that he could write a complete story in just six words. He wrote: "For Sale: baby shoes, never worn." He won the bet.



Now an online magazine is asking its readers to sum up their own lives in just six words.







'For Sale: baby shoes, never worn'

USEFUL LINKS

Smith Online Magazine- Six Word Memoirs



The BBC is not responsible for the content of external websites

Smith, the American online magazine, has used the Hemingway anecdote to inspire its readers to write their life story in just six words, culminating in a book of the best contributions, entitled "Not Quite What I Was Planning". We interviewed magazine editor, Larry Smith, what made him think of the idea.



Listen to the interview



YOUR SIX WORD MEMOIRS



Already hundreds of you have emailed your own ideas about how to sum up a life in just six words. Below are just a few of them. You can also submit your writing to Smith magazine, which is already working on a second collection.





Three sons, eleven cats, and Yvonne.

Michael Govan



Foetus, son, brother, husband, father, vegetable.

Dick Hadfield



Conceived,implored, employed, adored, retired, ignored.

Joy MacKenzie



Beginning, gurgly. Middle, sombre. End, gurgly.

Roger Noble



Jennie, Emma, Jane, Sophie, Rose, happiness.

Peter Graham



Slow lane. Fast lane. Hard shoulder.

Alex Hansen Today.



Bantam, Anglia, Midget, Alfa, Volvo Estate.

Neil Feldman.



PM. The World Tonight. Sleep?

Stephen Brady



Womb, Play, Learn, Work, Decline, Tomb.

Jacquie Smith



Start - programme - error - control - alt. - delete.

Alan



Outside lavatory, worked hard, now flush.

Ashley Errington



Battered ball-bearing traversing pinball machine.

Nancy Connolly



Unravelled career reknitted as baby blankets.

Clare Hobba



Started, farted, stood up, faced the wind.

Helen Eclair



Dot, two, six, three, one, wicket.

Tony Powell



Head in books, feet in flowers.

Heather Thomson



Trust me, I did my best.

Ray Kemp



An embroidered sampler, with some unpicking.

Sian Martin



Wrong era ,Wrong Class, Wrong Gender.

Patsy Wheatcroft



Love Mountains both ups and downs.

Dennis Lee



Best selling author? Instead there's this.

Ann Cummins



Wasted my whole life getting comfortable.

Richard Merrington



Worry about tomorrow, rarely enjoy today!

Richard Rabone



Dazed and confused? No. Existential angst.

Chris Miles



Pass the bottle before clarity returns

Gail Edmans



Lifetime partner, love, laughs - what now?

Peter Elvish



I'm just happy to be here!

Graham Marsh



Four Weddings, Three kids, then cancer.

Gillian Johnson



Intermitent loves here, there, now, then.

Paul Wingett



30 years two girls now branching.

Davina Marshall



Not quite finished, tell you later.

Dave Nicholson



Really should have been a Lawyer.

Gules Fallan



Hasn't Been A Jane Austen Romance.

Alexandra Lackey



Bored, so bored, so very bored.

John Doyle



Run over twice, thankfully still alive.

Trudi Evans



Aged child actress still seeking fame.

Doolallydaisy



Married childhood sweetheart. Two kids. Content.

Steve McMullen



Born London, lived elsewhere, died inside.

Patric



Partner, pension, motorhome, life is good.

Bob Lindblom



Some no-balls but several boundaries.

Di Attwood



Apple leads to eviction of two.

Una McMorran



Unfortunately I didn't buy the t-shirt.

Caroline Ryan



Philosopher, fire-eater, barrister, careering through life.

Duncan Roy



My life? Six words? God knows.

Helen Underwood



Knight on white charger never showed.

Jane Kirk



No A Levels but a millionaire.

C North



Any chance I could start again?

Sunny Tailor



Lived, loved, laughed liberally and left.

Vince Horsman



Found it, Lost it, Found it.

Lucinda Lavelle



Worked all life still paying taxes.

John Ball



Born, bred.Work, wed.Dad, dead.

Colin Penfold



Tolerant woman took me in hand

Colin Bradley



Aspirations compromised by procrastination, then children.

Harry Beighton



Started slowly, then dash to line.

Richard Draper.



Happy days, sad days, empty days.

Richard Smallbone



Too many sausages, not enough sex.

Andrew Wilson



Can I start wearing purple yet?

Sue Boswell



Trekked to Everest.Married a sherpa.

Robert Moore



Laughed out loud, cried in silence.

Lisa from Weston



Age crept up and mugged me

Bill Cowan



If only I had turned left.

Robin Pickering



Thirty thousand insulin injections and counting.

Tim Kell



Saw, heard, learnt, loved, mourned, dying.

Aaron Asadi



Left mad Russian for mad Scotsman.

Maggie Morgan



Still searching around for the reins.

Jessica Kane



Run over twice, thankfully still alive.

Trudy Evans



Blankets, books, bottles, books, blankets.

Margaret Melling



Ditched the map, found better route.

Gillian Smellie







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