Should we or shouldn’t we? Talk about religion, that is. Lately, I have heard so many stories about childhood memories around religion, many not very favorable. Mainly, I think, it’s the unfavorable ones that have a profound effect on us. Tell us about a memory you have that has to do with religion –...
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I have a real longing for my grandfather’s grapes. When I was little, we would go out in the vineyards on my great-grandparent’s property and pick grapes. Many a grape would go into our mouths before reaching the kitchen, and I can still taste the sticky goodness. My teeth would break through the thick...
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The memoir prompt for this week has to do with cooking and you have two options to choose from. When did you taste your favorite fruit for the first time? If you don’t remember, imagine it. Goldberg says that imagining often leads to the real deal. Also, it might not be the first time...
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Natalie Goldberg talks about love being a four-letter word. “Being in love is a loss of control. Suddenly your life is dependent on the eyebrow twitch of Joe Schmo. It’s terrible – it’s thrilling. Everyone wants it.” (pg. 22 – Old Friend From Far Away) She says that writing is also a form of...
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For the memoir prompt – A moment that changed my life Today, I was writing a new Squidoo page on how an Ansel Adams book and George Winston CD piqued my interest in photography. What they really did was make me want to visit Yosemite National Park in California. After visiting Yosemite with my...
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Thanks to Alex and Carrie for braving the six-word memoir. Feel free to add your six-word memoir to the post at any time. We received the following note from Larry Smith, editor of Smith Magazine regarding that post. Hey EWN — Thanks for the Six-Word Memoir mention. Love your site. And I’m sure your...
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This week I am out of town again (without Natalie Goldberg’s book) and I know you’re all going to be busy writing ghost stories. So, for this week’s memoir prompt, can you distill your life story into six words? Mine is “Trying to figure it all out.” Just reply to this post with your...
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It was a hot, blue-skied summer day. The sunlight created glistening pinpricks in the apartment complex pool. My babysitter had brought me and my siblings there because she had friends who lived in the building. No lifeguard, but since it was such a nice day, there were many adults and children in and around...
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For this week’s memoir prompt, we are going in over our heads to write about swimming. Here are some ideas: * A memorable time swimming with family or friends * Learning to swim or not being able to swim * A competitive swimming event * First swim in the ocean * A moonlight swim...
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My entry for the memoir contest to write about a father, uncle, or grandfather. Just like everyone, Grandpa, you had your rough and smooth edges. I just wish I had known and understood both a little better. Although we had Sunday dinners at your place for many years, I feel like I know very...
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Monkey mind, we all have one. It’s that mind that never stops thinking. It is also your critic and judge, telling yourself that you can’t write. Natalie Goldberg says, “Monkey mind can take the form of your mother, a nun, a professor, a priest.” That’s why you need to make yourself write, schedule it,...
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Writing about itches, especially metaphorical ones, was not as easy as I thought it would be. I can think of several times in my life when I felt an itching to do something and jumped a little too quickly. Sometimes those don’t work out so well, like the time my neighborhood friends and I...
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Yes, the memoir prompt is that simple this week. Write about a time you itched, physically or metaphorically. (pg. 50) And here is a clip from an interesting section of Natalie Goldberg’s book called “Sideways Step” about not entering your memoir writing head-on, but sideways. She talks about a friend who wrote really good...
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Do you remember kindergarten? If you don’t remember much, Natalie Goldberg says that’s okay. Begin from there and start writing. In one her workshops, she assigned third grade as a prompt. One person wrote about how he had missed third grade entirely because he was in Bergen-Belsen, a concentration camp. He did not talk...
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Frank Sinatra has been a part of my life since as far back as I can remember. My parents came of age in the Rat Pack era. In the early 60′s, it was cool to smoke, drink, and party to the music of Dave Brubeck or Frank Sinatra, depending on your mood. In my...
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On page 46 of Old Friend from Far Away, Natalie Goldberg writes, “Think of the history of nuts in your life.” Notice the word “history” here. By adding this word, she is not asking us for feelings about nuts. History implies details – dates, places, depth. Also, the history of nuts could mean nutty...
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The ice was like a mirror, as the Zamboni found its way back to its parking space. The entrance door creaked open, the skate guards were placed on the ledge, and the first blade hit the shiny, hard surface. The fresh, cool air filled her lungs, and a cloud of mist emerged from her...
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Oh, this is going to be good. We are going to write about our obsessions or passions this week in the memoirs group. Here is some guidance from Natalie Goldberg (paraphrased) from her book, Old Friend from Far Away. “Memoirs are not about your whole life, they are more an expression of your life...
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Here’s how memory works according to Natalie Goldberg. “With memory, you need to wake up different angles. You might stub your toe one morning and your mind tumbles back to an old friend, who wrote poems, and introduced you one May to peonies. The buds secreted a sticky sweet juice that attracted ants. The...
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Is happiness as compelling as fear? That’s what I wondered after last week’s exercise on remembering fear. Like fear, happiness for me is best remembered in moments. It’s often fleeting, but oh so delicious. Contentment tends to be longer lasting, but happiness? That is when you experience a joy so profound that you suddenly...
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