Places You've Known and Loved...

Author Lisa Dale Norton (Hawk Flies Above:  Journey to the Heart of the Sandhills & Shimmering Images:  A Handy Little Guide to Writing Memoir) says of her first book Hawk Flies Above  "It is a story of a place, how I came to love it, and how I hoped to speak for it."  (from the Prologue - pg xv)

This description of her book set my thoughts soaring.  Surely there have been places for which you've developed a great love.   So... where to find a great writing prompt?  In other writers' books, of course!  But - another great place to find potential writing prompts is from the list of places you've been in your lifetime. 

Making a list of all the places you've lived is your starting point.  But digging deeper into those places you've listed will no doubt get your pen moving across the page (or fingers across the keyboard). 

By allowing yourself to take a mini-mental-vacation back to those places you can conjure up all sorts memories.  Be sure to include memories by all of your senses.  What visual, auditory, olfactory and tactile memories do you find coming to the forefront?  What milestones did you reach while at those places?  What highs and lows do you recall from your time spent at  each place.  What joys and disappointments started and/or ended there?  Who were the people who played an important role in your time there?  How did their stories intersect with your own? 

Mining for these tidbits will create springboards for the larger lifestories you've yet to write.  So.... your task for the next two weeks is to start a list of the places you've lived and then work through as many of the features discussed here as you can.  Allow the stories to take you down paths you otherwise might never have traveled.  Have a wonderful trip! 

Comments

[Janet Riehl]

Lee, I love this. Place is also one of my passions, as it is for many of us. Susan Tweit's work is anchored in place.

I'm working on a memoir now about my love for the places I knew in Africa. It is, as you say, a mental freshener to go back in time and place in the search to communicate something you loved.

Yes, it does make the mind soar...like a hawk.

Janet
www.riehlife.com