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Besides writing for kids, I’m raising them, too. (You may have already figured this out by the blog title. I’m not that full of surprises.)

Two years ago I won a Six-Word Momoir contest from Smith Magazine, and now another one of my Momoirs is featured in their new book It All Changed in an Instant: Six Word Memoirs by Writers Famous and Obscure:

Wanted independence but had two dependents.

Probably would have sounded better if I went all Duggar and said nineteen dependents, but I digress…

Sometimes we need a break from our current manuscript, but we still want to write. Well, what better way to be succinctly witty and wittily succinct than by writing six-word memoirs? Picture book writers are expected to write short, so here’s the ultimate exercise. In my case, I’m sticking to momoirs. Here’s a few to get your creative sixes flowing:

Woman with awesome body becomes homebody.

Two words bring joy: “She pooped!”

You really do become your mother.

How many years until Kindergarten begins?!

Naptime: my favorite time of day.

Wake me up when they’re grown.

Stuffed animals must breed at night.

Motherhood should require an entrance exam.

Hug tight. The years move fast.

Say “yes” as often as possible.

Except when muddy nightcrawlers are involved.

Grant wishes. Encourage dreams. Inspire hope.

Give birth. Give lessons. Give freedom.

OK, I apologize for the poop. I have no reason to sink that low. But I do have something to tell new mothers in six words: “Stay far away from rice cereal.”

So, give it a shot. If you’re a parent or not, try a six-word memoir. I expect to see at least six below in the comments!

First Amazon gets sneaky and thinks to create a podcast network just for the heckuvit. Then Simon & Schuster cranks it up a notch and launches an Internet Video Channel for the sole purpose of marketing. Because kidlit is such a huge business, I know it's only a matter of time before various behemoths get around to including the parent-friendly/child-friendly aspects to these sites. The question is, would kids actually tune into a podcast with their favorite author? Or check out a publisher's "channel" to learn more about upcoming books? It could happen, sure. But somehow I suspect that it would take just as many marketing dollars to promote the site that is meant to, in turn, market a product than it would to just promote that product directly.

Thanks to Galleycat for both links.