Memory is an essential part of ourselves. Without it we cannot find our bearings in time and place, make connections with other people, and understand ourselves. The experience of childhood is so potent it is not surprising that it is often the source of literature. Our lives are so shaped by childhood that recalling its detail and other memories is an important part of writing.
Exercise One
Try using photographs as triggers for writing. These might be old pictures of yourself or others which bring up memories of events on your life. They could be images of your first class in school, yourself outside a home you no longer live in, a family pet you loved, etc. Perhaps you want to consider pictures of places you once loved visiting or enjoyed travelling to a s a child. Begin by describing the photograph and the person/people in it in detail. Write about everything you remember about yourself at that time--the sort of things you did, wore, who you knew, what you felt, incidents relating to that time. One memory is very likely to set off others you want to write about.
*You can modify this prompt by describing an object, place, person, etc. as a memory trigger.
Exercise Two
Sometimes sense impressions--smells, sounds, textures, tastes, sights-- take us back to the past more powerfully than anything else. Make a list of smells that bring back your childhood or some time in your past. Here are some possibilities: bonfire smoke, lavender, the smell of clothes fresh out of the dryer, cocoa, etc. Describe one of the smell memories and write about what it brings up. Then explore your other senses in the same way. Examples could include pieces of music or textures such as clothes you remember.
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