Post #82 – Women’s Memoirs, Writing Prompt – Kendra Bonnett and Matilda Butler
Memoir Writing and Advice from Picasso
While walking through a Picasso exhibit at the Seattle Art Museum, one of the didactics on the wall posted this quote from Picasso:
“One starts a painting and then it becomes something quite different.”
In other words, the creative process shapes a work of art. This happens with writing as well as painting.
And here’s another take on the same concept:
“I don’t know what I am going to write until I am writing it.” Milan Kundera
Words take us places that we cannot imagine at the beginning. Try one of the following memoir writing prompts and see where it takes you.
MEMOIR WRITING PROMPT:
1. Type the following sentences and then continue the paragraph, writing for at least 10 minutes. Did you know that was where the start would take you?
When my mother died, I accepted the news quietly. I cried some tears but felt in control. Now, I ………
2. Or if that sentence isn’t appropriate, try the following one:
When I first met her, I liked her but didn’t know if we’d really become friends. Now, …
3. If neither of these gets your creative juices going, take a topic that is on your mind and just write about it for 10 minutes. At the end ask yourself if this is where you thought you were going when you started writing.
When you think you don’t know where you are going with your story, just get started. Then look back on what you have written and examine where your words are taking you. It might reshape the way you want to tell your memoir. In other words, you don’t have to know the conclusion to get started and keep going.
Does all this mean that you don’t need to know your theme and message? Of course not. Does this mean you don’t need to shape the story behind your memoir? Of course not. But sometimes you need to start writing and see where the creative process is taking you in order to clarify your intent.
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