Saturday March 14, 2015

Well as you can see, writing Memoirs can take a lot of out you:  I had 2014 on the program booklet!  I guess I had already decided to go back in time…

We had a great turnout at the workshop, and spent about 90 minutes talking about unearthing memories that were buried in time. There were a lot of laughs, deep thinking, and the sharing of memories some had long-forgotten.  I talked about the importance of journaling (Just do it!), how to jumpstart your creativity, what structure to use in putting your work together, and how to research publishers.

There are several ways to jar your memory.  Look through old papers and photographs, revisit homes or schools that were a major part of your life.  Cook foods that were your favorite; listen to those songs from yesterday, and do storyboards and time lines.

I did two story boards; one of my neighborhood growing up, and one of Grama’s house.  We had a good time talking about how one memory (steeling a kiss in a friend’s car) can lead to a whole string of memories (cat-tails in the pond in the fall).  I don’t suppose you could get the connection, but there definitely is one!

If in the future you’d like to have me present a workshop for writing Memoirs, just let me know.  I’d love to share some of my history with you, and help you remember some of your own!