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Writing

Writing Prompts: Living Histories

Melinda Tognini August 25, 2020 No Comments

This year I’ve been teaching creative writing and academic writing at Sheridan College, a small, not-for-profit, tertiary institution in Perth. Recently, I was chatting to my students about COVID-19 and the idea that we are living through an historical time. And I asked them what they would like researchers in the future to know about their current experiences. What might be lost from history if we don’t record them now?

I also asked about other historical moments that have stood out to them. Without breaking confidences, many of them named historical events within their living memory—and experience—especially those who grew up outside of Australia. We need these perspectives in our books and art and cinema. They enrich what we know.

I’ve previously written about the value and necessity of multiple perspectives about Anzac Day, rather than a ‘single story’ about the Anzac legend. But I think it’s true about any moment or event in time—and that’s where your story comes in.

Your story matters because it offers your unique perspective not only on past events but on the present as well.

Whether you are writing for your family, a broader audience, or simply for yourself, here are a few prompts to get you started.

1. Living Histories

What historical moments have stayed with you? Perhaps you’ve only read about them in a book, or maybe you lived through them without comprehending their significance? It could be something like the Second World War or the Vietnam War, but it could be something like the fall of Skylab, the death of Princess Diana or a natural disaster. Perhaps it is COVID-19.

Creative Prompt Living Histories. 1. Are there any historical events that fascinate you? 2. Brainstorm questions you would ask someone living at that time. 3. Now ask those same questions about your experience of 2020. 4. Represent the present and/or the past in a creative form of your choice.

2. An ancestor’s Historical Moments

What historical moments did your ancestors live through? This could be a war or a past pandemic such as the Spanish Flu. Perhaps it was the goldrush, Australian Federation or the 1967 referendum that finally gave Aboriginal people the right to vote.

If your ancestor grew up, or was living, somewhere else in the world, what was happening in that country at the time your ancestor was alive?

Research one of these historical moments and imagine how your ancestor/s may have been impacted by it.

3. Glimpses of the Past

Trove—a fabulous digital archive of newspapers published in Australia, from small local rags to papers printed nationally—can be a wonderful way of uncovering glimpses of long-dead ancestors. I found my great-grandparents divorce proceedings in colourful detail. But I also found the much briefer mentions of my great aunt’s teaching postings and the death of a great uncle during the Second World War.

As a starting point, type in your ancestors name and the suburb or town in which they were living into the Trove search engine. What are the results? Limiting the search parameters to a decade or state can help too.

[My great-grandparents divorce proceedings, which appeared in the Daily News, 10 December 1938, p. 7. Accessed via Trove.]

4. The Day of Your Birth

Do you know the details around your birth? What anecdotes has your family told you? What information do any documents or other records reveal?

What else happened on the day you were born? If you were born  prior to 1955, you can look up newspapers that were published on that day via Trove,  Even if you weren’t born here, you may find stories about world news.

If you were born after 1955, you may find clues as to significant events via a general internet search.

5. Turning Points

When you reflect on your life, what were the turning points?

Each of these turning points are a potential story for you to tell.

Creative Prompts. Turning Points. Brainstorm the events that impacted your life—in big and small ways—and contributed to who you are and where you are today. Choose several to write notes or a paragraph about. Now select one of these and write the narrative in more detail, or represent the turning point in any other creative form you wish.

6. Safe Spaces

When you were a child (or at any other time), where were the places you felt safe? Why did you feel safe there, and when did you tend to go there?

7. Seasons

What season are you in today?

This could be whether it’s summer, winter, autumn or spring, but it could also be your stage of life or the circumstances in which you find yourself.

Reflect on the seasons, in whatever way your interpret it.

[Photo credits: Aleksandr Eremin on Unsplash;  Ethan Robertson on Unsplash; Pete Kennedy on Reshot; Bethanie The Wookie on Reshot; and Junjira Konsang on Reshot.]

Over to You

Which prompt grabbed your attention?

Just begin.

Remember: Your story matters.

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Previous 6 Degrees of Separation: From How to Do Nothing to The History of Mischief
Next Winter, Spring and the In-Between
Melinda Tognini

story-gatherer & mentor

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Apologies for the late reply! I shall go check out your post - even the title is intriguing!
In 6 Degrees of Separation: From Orbital to Imperfect
I haven't read any of the books on your chain (though am reading Orbital currently) but love the clever links... And now adding Writer Laid Bare to my TBR.. my post is here - https://www.ladyinreadwrites.com/two-roads-diverged-in-the-words-with-trivia-twists-too/
In 6 Degrees of Separation: From Orbital to Imperfect
You're welcome! Thank you for being so generous with your time in answering my questions as well as all the incredible work encouraging creatives everywhere!
In Reflect. Simplify. Create: In Conversation with Amanda Viviers

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