The terrorizing thoughts would hit when I was in bed for the night. I don’t even know how old I was,probably around 10, but I’m not sure. I don’t know how long it lasted either, but I did get over it. While I didn’t dread going to bed, I did dread the thoughts coming....
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Getting to the emotional truths underlying a story. Do you remember the first time you were afraid or any time you were afraid? Set up the story. Where were you and why? Describe the setting. What happened next and what were you thinking and feeling? What happened after? In her example from Old Friend...
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A Memorable Meal There is a lot I don’t remember about this meal, yet it was one of my most memorable. Growing up, I was a painfully shy figure skater. My passion for skating bordered on obsession. On the ice I could let loose, but talking was not my thing so my fellow skaters...
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This week’s exercise for writing memoir is all about coffee and you could win a copy of Natalie Goldberg’s book Old Friend from Far Away. Being from Canada, I grew up drinking tea. When I started working, we used to go to a little coffee shop in an office building across the street and...
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Seven Up Six Up Five Up Four Up One Two Three Up Two Up One Up The little girl repeated her mantra, sometimes aloud, sometimes in her head, as the rubber ball bounced off the cement wall of the school. It was quiet, being a Saturday and school out for the weekend. She lived...
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Continuing in Memoir Writing with exercises which explore our senses, here are two more. The first is to give a memory of sound (trying not to use the word ”sound”). Here is Natalie Goldberg’s example, ”I remember hearing the lawn mower as I lay in bed when I was twelve, reading Gone With the...
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This week in the memoir writing group we will be focusing on our senses. I will add one prompt today, another mid-week, and a final one on Friday. These exercises are from page 6 (Test 1) from Natalie Goldberg’s book, “Old Friend From Far Away.” She suggests that you begin each answer with “I...
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