My state authors organization sponsors an annual writing contest that encompasses several categories. Year after year, Memoir is the category that receives the largest number of entries. People write about those magical moments of the past that wrap around our memory bank like a shawl that warms us on a chilly day.
When we spiral back to our childhood days or our teen times, we don't remember the days. Even as adults, certain moments are treasured or disliked. As the poster says, it's the moments that stay with us. It is those moments that can serve as the basis for a memoir piece of writing. A moment is here and gone in a flash but if something happened that left an impression on you, it remains in your memory forever.
I mentioned magical moments in my opening today but some of them are not so positive. The bits and pieces that we don't forget are often traumatic or sad or humiliating. We've all had them just like we've had those moments that are thrilling, filled with joy, or exciting.
How can you write a piece of creative nonfiction of perhaps 1000 words from something that happened in a flash? Consider the following:
- what happened in that 'monment'
- what led up to it
- who was part of it
- your reaction
- your emotions
- your satisfaction or regret
- what came later as a result
- the place where it occurred
- the lesson learned
Consider all of the above, and perhaps other things, and you can easily write 1000 words about that 'moment' you have remembered all these years. These occurrences that impressed us might well appeal to readers. If we remember what happened years later there is most likely a good reason. It's up to you to write about it to share with families in your Family Memories book or for readers who are not your relatives but can relate to whatever you wrote about.
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