A story is not like a road to follow … it's more like a house. You go inside and stay there for a while, wandering back and forth and settling where you like and discovering how the room and corridors relate to each other, how the world outside is altered by being viewed from these windows. —Alice Munro

Remembering the Past

You have three more days of writing prompts. In a few days, I will ask you to settle on a story that you are going to organize and write. (I will send you guidance on how to do that!) Please know this is a difficult process for everyone. I remind you that you are starting the journey of writing lots of stories. Your first story can be a practice story and doesn’t have to be (and maybe shouldn’t be) your most important story.

A difficult aspect of your project is the remembering. For most of us, the details of our history are inaccessibly blurry. We sort of know the story, but we can’t make out some of the finer points. In your memoir, when you include details or dialogue, you will make the leap into this uncomfortable combination of remembering and imagining. Today, I want you to start practicing a bit of that. Today’s prompts are pushing you to remember things - people, places, things. With this exercise, where your memory fades, see where your imagination takes you. 

Read the questions below. Select the one that resonates with you most. After you’ve decided on your writing prompt, close your eyes for a moment and reflect on the question and your experience. Allow your memories to come up. Open your eyes. Write at least one minute. Stop and start as you need to with this exercise. You may choose more than one prompt, but please don’t write for more than 15-20 minutes.

• Describe a room in your childhood home in detail. (Or pick any other era in your life and describe a room in your home in detail.)
• Describe a day from beginning to end from a period in your past.
• Some of the things I have stored in my attic that I won’t throw away are... I think I keep them because...
• Write out every job you’ve had over the course of your life. Pick a few to write about in more detail (eg, how you felt about them, who you liked or disliked at work, etc)
• When I was a little girl, I wished....
• My favorite teacher ever was... (Describe this teacher and your relationship with them.)
• Imagine yourself playing a favorite game as a child. Write about her inner world while playing in as much detail as you can.
• Google images for toys, appliances, and fashion from your first decade of life. See what feelings and memories these images generate for you. (eg., "Toys from 1940s" or "1945 fashion for women," etc.)
• My earliest memory is…

Great work! We will continue with some fun writing prompts tomorrow.

StoryList

Did you get any stories today? Add them to your StoryList!

Don't try to comprehend with your mind. Your minds are very limited. Use your intuition. —Madeleine L'Engel