That's what the editors of Smith magazine asked folks to do for their curious little paperback, Not Quite What I Was Planning: Six-word Memoirs by Famous & Obscure Writers (Harper Perennial, 219 pages, $12).
The idea seems a little silly, I know, but its origins are indeed literary — it's based on Ernest Hemingway's legendary six-word story: "For sale: baby shoes, never worn." You have to admit, that's pretty powerful — and it forces the reader to speculate as to what the bigger picture is.
Here are some of the famous entries:
* Danced in fields of infinite possibilities. (Deepak Chopra)
* Mushrooms. Clowns. Wands. Five. Wig. Thatched. (Amy Sedaris)
* I always suffered fools fairly well. (Richard Ford)
* Revenge is living well, without you. (Joyce Carol Oates)
* Fifteen years since last professional haircut. (Dave Eggers)
* Well, I thought it was funny. (Stephen Colbert)
And some of the obscure:
* Gin joints. Love affairs. No relation. (Dean Ellis)
* Savior complex makes for many disappointments. (Alanna Schubach)
* Same mistakes. Over and over again. (Matthew Oransky)
* Made a mess. Cleaned it up. (Amy Anderson)
* Fact checker by day, liar by night. (Andy Young)
* Everyone who loved me is dead. (Ellen Fanning)
* Dad wore leather pants in Reno. (John Falk)
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