I recently realised that ten years has passed since I published my first (very brief) blog post, here on Treefall Writing. Turns out that so much can change in 10 years, and so much can stay the same.
This has prompted me to think about time in the context of memoir and family history. So, I’ve created 7 prompts that I hope will help you also consider time – and generate new material for your own creative projects.
1. Ten Years
Describe a memory (your own or a character from your manuscript) from a decade ago.
What was the impact of that moment, event or experience?
What role, if any, did it have in where or who you (or your character) are today?
What has changed and what has stayed the same?
What emotions does the memory evoke?
Represent this memory in a creative form of your choice.
2. A Moment in Time
Describe a moment, event or experience that was pivotal or life changing.
What was the impact of that time? In what ways, if any, did it change you?
3. All About Context
Identify two periods of time in your life, or that of an ancestor.
Recall and/or research the social, political or historical context of each time period. What changes occurred between the first and second time periods – or even across your subject’s lifetime?
4. The Ripple Effect
Accepting a new job, welcoming a stranger into a gathering, missing a train, auditioning for a community play, learning a musical instrument or taking up a new sport, saying yes to an invitation – none of these are necessarily dramatic turning points, but all them have the potential to alter something in a person’s life.
Brainstorm such moments in your own life or that of an ancestor. Choose one and explore how it has affected or altered something, whether it is small or significant.
5. Seasons
Do so without naming the season. Instead, allow the reader to identify it through your use of the five senses and specific details.
Incorporate the details from this writing exercise into a current work-in-progress.
(If you would like to explore the seasons further –literally or metaphorically – check out one of my earlier posts, Memoir & Family History: Writing Through the Seasons.)
6. Stop All the Clocks
Write about a time when you or an ancestor wished they could stop time.
7. The Sands of Time
Create a scene from each decade to represent your subject at that time in their life.
Consider the following:
- how has life changed in each ten-year period?
- how has your subject changed?
- how are they the same?
- what is the effect of life’s experiences in the intervening years?
Over to You
How does thinking about time help you develop a scene or chapter in either your current or new project?
