Six Word Memoirs

"A shilling life will give you all the facts," as Auden sadly observed, and a memoir by James Frey will add a bit more. But how much would a life compressed into six words be worth? That's the challenge in our six words competition, and the entries have been rolling in.

We've started adding some of our favourites to a postcard gallery. I particularly enjoyed the understated romance of Nick Bailey's "Grumpy bastard. Until wife came along", and Rishi Dastidar's "To date; one love, no deaths."

I've been thinking that the perfect entry was already - almost - written by Samuel Beckett ("Tried again. Failed again. Failed better.") Which inspired my first thought: "Entered various competitions. Did not win." I'm sure you can do much better - please feel free to post them here too.

- Lindesay Irvine for the Guardian.co.uk


Not Quite What i Was Planning
Six-Word Memoirs by Writers Famous and Obscure
Rachel Fershleiser (Editor)