Wednesday, March 12, 2014

Dig Deep Into Your Memory Bank

Cappuccino  I usually write my posts after reading thenewspaper and eating breakfast. I bring a cup of coffee into my home office and start with email, then seeing what is going on at facebook. It's surprising how many times I've found a subject or inspiration for the post from something I've seen on that social media page. I originally joined facebook to promote my writing and Writer Granny's World but I've found lots of other pluses to my membership. After email and facebook, I write the blog post, still sipping my coffee. It's a rather nice way to begin the day; makes me feel like I've accomplished something.
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I gave you a few writing prompts a few days ago. If you missed it, check out this page. All the prompts here revolve around March and early spring. Today, I've got a list of more general prompts that will help writers who write memoir or family stories but also those who write fiction. By doing this exercise using your own experiences, you can find the basis for a character or plot in your fiction, too. Pour yourself a fresh cup of coffee or tea or a glass of juice and let the writing juices emerge.

Begin with the prompt phrase and write as quickly as you can, don't stop to plan it carefully. Instead, freewrite. Let the thoughts come from the recesses of your mind. Once you've primed the pump, the memories will flow like water over a dam. You may become inspired to keep on writing, and if that doesn't happen, don't delete what you've written. Keep it in a file and go back to look at it now and then. Ready?

1.  My mother never....

2.  I always told my children....

3.  On the school playground....

4.  When a stranger looked at our town,.....

5.  My favorite teacher was....

6.  The teacher that annoyed me....

7.  My brother/sister asked me to....

8.  Our next door neighbor was....

9.  We had a dog that....

10. My favorite place to visit is...

11. I feel furious when....

12. Whenever I was mean, my mother...

13. I helped my father.....

14. The one thing I could never eat was...

15. When I picked the neighbor's flowers...


2 comments:

  1. Thank you Nancy. I'm always looking for good prompts for my writing group. There are some really good ideas here.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thank you for these prompts. These are great ideas for writing, and also for conversations with friends.

    ReplyDelete

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