Post #105 – Women’s Memoirs, Writing Prompt – Kendra Bonnett and Matilda Butler
Memoir Writers Can Reflect on the Size of Their Dreams
This past week, we’ve had house guests — friends for more than 40 years. It was great fun to show them our new environment. They often visited us in Gilroy and became familiar with the sights over the years. Such a treat to show them the Chinese Garden and the Rose Garden in Portland, the train to Mt. Hood, a 9/11 a cappella concert at the Grotto, a trip to the coast and the Hatfield Marine Sciences Institute, plus more.
Actually, part of the more is the source of today’s memoir writing prompt. We stopped at McMinnville to visit the Evergreen Aviation and Space Museum, the home of Howard Hughes Spruce Goose and more than 100 other airplanes, each with its fascinating story. We walked the streets of McMinnville while looking for a lunch place. In the window of one store, I saw this sign:
“Dreams come a size too big so we can grow into them.”
We all have dreams of what we want, how we hope to live, what we imagine for ourselves as well as for others. The size of our dreams matters. Dreams shouldn’t be so large that we can never imagine achieving them. They shouldn’t be so small that they seem insignificant and not worth the effort to go after.
MEMOIR WRITING PROMPTS
1. Today, I’d like for you to consider your current life dream or dreams. When you think about that dream how do you feel? Exhilarated? Joyous? You name the emotional state. What do you hope to achieve in the next year? What steps are you taking to make sure you are closer to your dreams in September 2012 than you are in September 2011. Write about your dream for 10 minutes or until you feel you’ve explored this topic.
2. I’d also like you to go back to when you were a little girl. If you need a specific age, think about when you were 10 years old. Otherwise, it can just be your childhood. What dreams did you cherish. Have you reached that dream? Perhaps the dream changed over the years. How did thinking about that dream make you feel? Excited? Happy? You name the emotional state you felt when you were young. Again, write for 10 minutes about your childhood dream.
3. Now, look at what you’ve written. Look at the two dreams. Consider the two emotional states. The types of dreams change across our lifetime. But they continue to be important; they continue to inspire us. Give more thought to your life dreams and evaluate the size you’ve given your current one.
