"I love that Six Words is truly a community. I love that people come and go, and I especially love that people stay."

Name: Karen Golden Place: Cherry Hill, New Jersey Member since: May 2011 Browse through the reams of Six-Word Memoirs from notjustagirlintheworld—at well over 2,000, there are plenty to peruse—and you’ll discover a clever (“Cloud 8 is my personal best”), quick-witted (“More Walter Mitty than Wonder Woman”), and pleasingly neurotic woman (“The cant’s have me totally surrounded”). If we could use only one word to describe her memoirs: acerbic. Of course, we’d rather use six: “Look up acerbic, find Karen Golden.”

"I always thought I’d write a novel, and when I was younger I’d draft chapters with the big end goal in mind. But when I discovered short story form, and then poetry, and then six words, I came to the realization that often, less is more."

Kathryn Campbell has shared so many milestones with SMITH (from “Yes! Yes! 5 years cancer free.” to “She turns 0-4; I turn 4-0.”), it’s hard to believe it’s been a mere two years since she joined us. As SMITH member Lillybrook, Kathryn’s memoirs are insightful and touching (“Failed moments are awarded with wisdom.”), clever and introspective (“So perfectionist even my blood's A+.”) and show she’s wise beyond her years (“Important life lesson: do no harm.”). We were fortunate to catch the super-busy Kathryn during her summer break and are thrilled to feature her as SMITH’s Memoirist of the Month for August. Thanks to our friends at Spreadshirt. Kathryn can mark this milestone with a Six-Word Memoir T-shirt of her choice.

When did you start writing, and what have been turning points in your creative life? I started my first diary when I was six years old. I still have that Hallmark book with its keyed lock and green gingham cover. Most of my notes were pretty bland, but I wrote every day. Writing in a diary taught me that recording time illuminates those moments in life, both extraordinary and mundane, that you don’t see if you don’t document them.

"Reading and writing Sixes provides a creative spark, as does commenting and conversing with the other Sixers. What a weapon against writer’s block it is. Seeing what other people do with words makes you a better writer."

Name: Dick Peterson Place: Kansas City SMITH Member since: July 2010 Since Dick Peterson joined SMITH in 2010, much of his writing has been about...writing. From “Let it be written...and read” to “Don't sit on it. Write it,” Dick has motivated himself and countless others to transform their thoughts into written words. Even his clever moniker pays homage to his beloved homeland and his yearning to write about it—Baton Rouge translates to Red Stick, he’s better known to the SMITH Community as RedStickWriter. Dick lives in Kansas City, but explains he's "a Missourian by employment, a Louisianan by birth, a Southerner by the grace of God, and a Tybee Islander at heart." Currently writing his second novel, he says that his work in progress "is set in these places of intimate familiarity to me." While Dick has been selective with his submissions, we’ve noticed a steady rise in memoirs in recent months. Perhaps it should come as no surprise that come the end of July, Dick retires from banking after a career spanning more than four decades. With his own recent six words—“Banking career sunsetting, writing ideas dawning”—as inspiration, we're so pleased to name Dick Peterson July's Memoirist of the Month. Congratulations on the Spreadshirt T-shirt of your choice and, more importantly, on having more time to “write a Six, then a chapter.”