It All Changed in an Instant: More Six-Word Memoirs by Writers Famous & Obscure

This is the possibly-anticipated follow-up to Rachel Fershleiser and Larry Smith’s  Not Quite What I Was Planning: Six-Word Memoirs by Writers Famous and Obscure . The basic idea is the same—the authors asked a number of people, some of them famous authors, to summarize their lives in exactly six words. This form of flash nonfiction may not catch on as much as the authors hope, but it’s good for a quick and quirky read. Finally, a bathroom book that really can be read in one sitting, so to speak.Ten of the better bios in their entirety:- My rise to fame went unnoticed. –Steven Newman- Bachelor party. YouTube video. Wedding cancelled. –Daniel Little- First comes love, then comes stalking. –Jeff Metcho- I turned eleven. No Hogwarts letter. –Laura Murray- The miserable childhood leads to royalties. –Frank McCourt- I found my mother’s suicide note. –Anne Heausler- So I only get six words? --Lalah Hathaway- There will be no white flag. –Kamila Ema- Could be poop, could be chocolate. –Erin Kennedy- “Live long and prosper” says it. –Leonard NimoyThe end of the book includes selected longer author bios and explanations of some of the six-word summaries. Read this if you like to have jokes that weren’t funny explained to you. If you enjoyed these you should take a break to clear your head and then look at volume one or one of the authors’ other two books:  Six-Word Memoirs on Love and Heartbreak: by Writers Famous and Obscure  and  I Can't Keep My Own Secrets: Six-Word Memoirs by Teens Famous & Obscure . Do take the break first, though. The format wears a little after a while.

I have been using "six word stories" to caption some of my images on flickr for a long time. Creating a 6-word story stretches your writing muscle and forces you to be spare and concise with your words. So when I saw this compilation of 6-word stories for a bargain price, I downloaded it immediately.The book is listed as 274 pages, but many of the pages have only 1 or 2 six-word stories, so it won't take you long at all to read the entire book - probably less than one hour. Some of the stories are accompanied by photos or sketches. The final chapter of the book lists the bios of some of the included authors. Some of the stories were mundane, some humorous, some witty, and some sad. We can all write differing six-word stories based on where we are in our lives.Some of my favorites:- Retired. one errand takes all day.- Viewed life from behind a camera.- Book then. Books Now. Occasionally Life.- Dealt bad cards. Played them well.You won't learn a lot from this book, but it may pique your interest, as it did for me, in writing more six-word stories. I'm writing one in my daily journal now to summarize that day.

As a contributing member, I'm biased. I admit it. But I've shared this book with many writer friends and non-writer family and friends--and everyone has the same response: "I LOVE this book!"IT ALL CHANGED IN AN INSTANT is a fascinating compilation of memoirs by celebrities, famous authors, obscure authors, screenwriters and Pulitzer Prize winners. What fun it is to be "rubbing shoulders" with these amazing people. As you read the book, you'll find it's like being at a high-powered cocktail party and catching tidbits of scintillating conversation.The entries are funny, quirky, inspiring, compelling, sad, and thought-provoking. All writers and writers' groups should have this book. Six-word memoirs force you to write concisely, think out of the box, and provide excellent writers' prompts.So...what are you waiting for? Buy IT ALL CHANGED IN AN INSTANT now. What a unique Mother's Day, Father's Day or birthday gift. And don't forget to buy a copy for yourself. You can thank me later.Try it. You'll be hooked. Promise. (six words!)

Good reading to pass the time. Makes one think about what they would write if asked -a challenging task. Agreed that it would make a good class assignment. Some items were interesting but not as meaningful since could not identify the author and story behind the quote. It was good that at the end some, but not all, were identified and quotes explained. Some authors were obvious from their names of course. Overall good read with sprinkle of humor and emotions.

What a clever concept: a memoir in six words. The interesting thing is they ask for a memoir, so some people's sentences were more like bios, and others more of an aspect or event in their life. My only negative is I feel they should have attempted to get more well known stars to submit versus the obscure. Some of the memoirs were cop outs, and some strange, but many were intriguing. Good book.

Although this one isn't quite as bad as the teen edition ("I Can't Keep My Own Secrets"), it's still pretty bad.Fortunately, it's a quick read, and the design of the book is good.A "memoir" is normally considered to be a remembrance that's communicated to others because it's interesting.However, the contents of this volume is better described as a terse litany of regrets, or compact versions of the worst thing that ever happened to a person. Some are actually quite disturbing, made even more so by the lack of context (other than a few pages of notes at the end of the book concerning a few select entries).Many of the "memoirs" are written in third person -- not first -- making them seem more about other people than about the author. In fact, rather than "six word memoirs", most of the contributions could more accurately be characterized as "six word confessions", "six word advice", "six word mottoes", or "six word epitaphs".

I bought this for my son who loves writing. There is sadly a whole lot of junk in the book. I wish they would have a 'clean' version, because I really love the premise. I am sending it back. Definitely not kid-friendly. There may have been a disclaimer that there is a lot of adult content, but I didn't see one.

The contents of the book are amazing, it is incredible how much can be packed into just 6 words, and I would expect to be able to keep a book like this for a long time, to dip into and re-read again or pass around to friends, but it is printed on very cheap paper.The pages are noticeably yellowed and very thin, you can look at a page and clearly see the text on the other side of the page, and read what is written on the page underneath, it would have been better to have put more memoirs on a page, and use better paper.