Misunderstandings create tears. I'm the shoulder.
I love this exercise! It is so much more fun than writing a lengthy poem or a drawn out explanation about my week at work. I could have detailed the gossip, given you the shouts and the anger, but instead I left you thinking for yourself about what the actual "misunderstandings" were. Isn't that more fun?
It freed me from the guilt of sharing the details of my co-workers personal feelings. It freed me from the fear of giving you the wrong impression of people. I promise you the phone calls and texts could have created quite an interesting narrative, but I think the sentence above is much more poetic, much more enticing.
I'm going to use this with my students. The task is flexible. I can have them do this instead of turning in an outline with their thesis listed at the top. I can have them create them for other papers that they are reading during workshop so the author can see if their view is coming across. As teachers, we need ideas to pull out whenever the class needs a little spice. The six word summary is officially in my bag o' tricks.
THANKS HEMINGWAY!
I liked the idea too, but haven't made my own up yet. I'll have to think about that. Limiting ourselves as writers seems almost wrong, but what a great way to succinctly communicate and respond!
ReplyDeleteI love six word stories! Long essays and papers for class get tedious and boring-- writing six word stories is a way for me to get a break from boring essay writing.
ReplyDeleteYour sharing of Cheez-its? Lovely, friend.
ReplyDeleteI totally forgot about this activity! I remember I was so thrilled when we got the sheet in class but I never sat down to do it.
ReplyDeleteNote to self: sit down with some hot cider and write 6 word stories!