Post #14 – Memoir Writing, Journaling – Amber Starfire
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In a recent journal writing workshop, I was struck (again) by the mono-sensual nature of most of our descriptions. We write about things we see: expressions, color, height, quality of light. We might include sounds. Rarely do we include smells and tastes. Even less often do we include the sense of touch — the sense that quite literally covers our bodies in the form of our skin.
It’s not because touch is not an important part of our lives. On the contrary! Its absence in our writing is most likely due to lack of practice, both in being aware of our sensual touch experience and how to articulate what we feel. And what greater place to practice sensual description than in our journal writing?
Try the following sensory exercises to develop awareness of touch and apply this awareness to both memory and writing. Pick an exercise and do it three days in a row. Each day, immediately following the exercise, write about the sensations you experienced with as much detail as possible. If the sensations brought any memories to mind, write about those memories and include the sense of touch in your descriptions.
- Sit or stand outside for 3-5 minutes. Close your eyes and bring your attention to your skin, taking in as much sensation as you can during those few minutes. Do you feel the pressure of a breeze as it crosses your skin? Heat from the sun or cold from the lack of it? Does your skin constrict or expand? If it’s raining, how dow the rain feel as it falls, collects, and runs down the skin of your face? What about the skin that is not exposed? Is it rubbing agains layers of clothing? Is your clothing soft or rough? Loose or tight?
– - Fingertip exploration. Find objects with five or six different textures around your house — as different as possible. Include soft, hard, slick, slimy, rough, etc. Arrange the objects in front of you. Then, close your eyes and spend a few minutes exploring the object with the tips of your fingers. Pretend you are a baby exploring these objects for the first time. What do you notice? What memories do the textures bring to mind?
– - This next exercise will bring the most awareness if done with a partner. Select three or four different objects. Close your eyes, and then have your partner — or you can do it yourself — rub or run each object over different sensitive areas of your body (the most sensitive areas are your hands, lips, face, neck, tongue, fingertips, and feet). Again, bring your awareness to your point of contact with the objects, noticing temperature, pressure, texture, and quality of sensation. Try to articulate in your mind what you are experiencing.
The next time you write about your day, or about a memory from your past, close your eyes and recreate the textures, the temperatures, and touch-sensitivities that you experienced. Your writing will come alive in the process. For more journaling exercises and prompts including the sense of touch, view my article about touch on Writing Through Life and Using Your Senses to Inspire Creative Journal Writing here on Women’s Memoirs.
I invite you to share your experiences with us by leaving a comment below.
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Image by WTL Photos
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