Short Story / A Writer's Life in Six Words (Analysis)

Very good! The desperation of the gesture of the writer’s considerable markdown of their soul is palpable. Or maybe it is their “Writer’s Soul” (a separate entity) which could be separated from their total soul and is being sold? It is nicely open to interpretation. I also like the wording – as if it is a newspaper ad. But I am concerned the numbers of the “soul prices” spoken out loud seem to cause it to exceed the limit of six words. But I loved it nonetheless. I thank you for letting me read it.  

what exactly are you selling your soul for? and what exactly does it mean to be a writer? do not all(well, maybe most) humans feel pain and strife and suffer to accomplish their goals?  i would change this to : Human Soul on Sale.

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August 16, 2008

by DCAllen

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The statement is about how the market puts a price tag on ideas, not pain and suffering. The contest is about the creative life. A “human” soul, to most people, would be redundant, unless you think worms have souls.

August 18, 2008

by nettieoneg

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i just ate a worm slurrrrrrrrrrp

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hahahahahaha. I cannot criticize. I Just got paid fifty dollars for a 20 page work. It won a contest and you would have thought i’d gotten the Pultzer prize. Us writers are a little hungry. lOVE IT, SANDI

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August 16, 2008

by DCAllen

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No. of Reviews	Overall Quality	Comment Followup
1657	93.3% (626 votes)	49.4%

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44	M	Germany	November 22

Yep. :)

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Well done! It accurately conveys the despair so many writers feel at being undiscovered…  or overlooked time and again…  and what they’re willing to gamble/sell to get just one shot. Especially like that you chose to use dollar amounts for two of your words…  clever.

I find it depressing, yet at the same time intriguing for it’s use of numbers and style (the slashing of the price).  The slash put the image of the price cut is inevitable for some authors and this piece truly exemplifies it.  Good job.  =D

This memoir is very similar to another one that I read last month, although you may be the same author, since it does not let me know who it is.

The strikeout is very well used.  It gives a physical clarity to the situation, which matches its philosophical message.

I feel like “on sale” might take away from the impact of the prices though.  The end is not as strong, because we already know that it is “on sale,” which gives its implication without the need for exact prices.

Also, the numbers themselves do not seem to have significance, other than one is much higher than the other and neither is very expensive.

Lastly, I’ve seen this said in other reviews before and it is worth pointing out – using digits and symbols actually makes a memoir many more words when spoken/read, although a computer only recognizes it as six.

Very clever. The only (minor) suggestion I have is “on sale” seems like it should be “for sale.” I mean, “on sale” works, it makes sense, but “soul for sale” is an idea we are all familiar with, and the price change in the text gets the message across. Will the contest allow font changes like that, I wonder?

A profound visual; the strikeout feature.  It makes for a true insight to the hindsight of what it all boils down to in the end.  I would like to have seen one more strikeout, maybe the $14.95, then $7.95, then HOW BIMEANING would it be if the last price was $.02…the writer’s final 2 cents!  The progressive decline of price embodies not only the stated decline in actual sales price but the writer’s perceived worth of self in this society.  Almost a 10 (perfect) but I see an opportunity for more.  Today is the last day to submit.  Revise and get to it!

DC. You didn’t strike out with this one. It’s great. Every time I read it, I laugh. Although the laugh does change as I picture the desperation of the hand crossing out the intended price, and the sadness of a it not being worth much to any one and then having to sell out cheap no matter what the cost. Soul for sale- Shades of Goethe’s Faustus.Well done.

This is great. The fact that the original price was less than 15 for a soul makes me laugh. Good humor. “on Sale” is better than if you said “for Sale” so keep that.