Fresh baked cookies, memories of grandma.
Bruises, sweat, tears; taekwondo rank blackbelt.
Friendly people, great food: Vietnam vacation.
Smiles, laughs, butterflies: successful first date.
Proud parents: College acceptance letter arrived.
First love: anger, tears; difficult goodbye.
Rescued kitten, given love, starts purring.
Grateful for Japanese lessons, arigato mom.
Blisters on Monday; weekend game champion.
Go-kart brakes don’t work, hurt leg.
What I liked about this form of creative non-fiction was that it’s clearly defined. It needs to be 6 words exactly, not 5 or 7. It really made me have to think to fit those narrow parameters. I had to be innovative to share a compelling story but at the same time I had to make sure it also made sense. It wasn’t like anything I had written before and I think it’s good to try new writing styles and get outside of my comfort zone. It reminded me a bit of haiku.
However, the limited writing style was also something I didn’t like. It’s good to have guidelines but I found it a little too limiting. I think it’s quite difficult to make the stories entertaining when they’re this length. Hemingway’s example is clever and well done but I don’t find it particularly interesting even though it’s quite deep and nuanced considering its limitations.
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