I promised a sample answer to the writing prompt of “Your earliest memory”. Here is a brief look at my first memory:
When I think about my life I often travel back in time, trying to find my earliest memory. It is vague in many ways, yet also crisp in the details of the moment to which my mind clings. I am in something that looks like what we would today call a railway car, but it was more open to the air, with no panes of glass where windows would usually be. I can feel the warmth of the sun on my skin before we start moving, then the chill of the breeze as it passes freely through the open walls. The car travels up an incline overlooking a big body of water. My mother and at least some of my four sisters are also there. Dressed in matching frilly dresses making me believe we had been at church on a special Sunday before coming here. But mostly I remember being scared, clinging to my mother.
I’m told it must have been the now-defunct incline railway at Port Stanley on Lake Erie. I often wonder why that day left an imprint in my young mind. I wonder if it was the height and being open to the air, making me think I might fall out the window. Or perhaps it was the fear that left its imprint. For as long as I can remember, I have been just a bit frightened of heights. I can’t walk to the edge of a balcony without a bit of dizziness and a desire to jump because I just want my feet planted firmly on the ground. I’m told that is a frequent experience of people who are afraid of heights. Did the trip on the incline railway at a young age have anything to do with the development of this nervousness or was I already predisposed to a fear of heights? It’s the old chicken and egg dilemma, so I will never know.
Tips on documenting your first memory:
- The most important tip is to write or record your story. If you are disinclined to spend time editing and enhancing the outcome, that is just fine. Having the story available for your descendants to absorb is what is important, not the quality of the work. The other tips are for those who wish to enhance the experience of the reading or listening audience.
- Just write or say what comes to mind. Worry about editing it and refining it later. What matters is getting the story straight in your mind.
- Reread or replay the story thinking about your 5 senses: taste, touch, smell, sight, and hearing. Prompt yourself to think about whether you can deepen your memory through the use of these prompts. Ask yourself, was there a distinctive smell? Did you taste something memorable? How did it feel, to your touch? What did you see and what did you hear? Often these prompts will help you focus on details and help your reading or listening audience experience the event with you.
- Edit your story to include these details.
- Read your story out loud, if it is written. or relisten to your story if you are taping it.
- Decide whether to write in the present or past tense and be consistent unless, as in my example, you change perspectives during your story. I start out writing in the first person when I describe the memory but when reflecting on what it meant to my life I switched to past tense.
We will gradually add some suggestions for enhancing your writing but for today we will just concentrate on adding the details through the use of this one technique of questioning your senses. I’d love to hear about your writing experiences!
This month’s prompt:
What is the most significant life event in the past year in your life? Write or record your thoughts. Then refine as above.
