Post #8 – Women’s Memoirs, Writing Prompt – Kendra Bonnett and Matilda Butler
Written by: Promptly Portland
Kendra and Matilda have recruited me to share with y’all some writing advice. My favorite part of writing is sitting down with a directive, or some sort of a theme, that will allow me to freely write memoir vignettes about my life and the things (people, events, places) that are important to me. So, I feel that the best way for me to provide writing guidance is to give you directives, or “prompts” (as we call them in classes). You’ll know it’s me when you see 500 Words (or More) in the title. Kendra and Matilda also solicit writing prompts from memoir authors they interview. These are posted in this series (hence Post #8 shows above), but this is my first prompt. I’ll number my 500 Words (or More) sequentially, so you can always find my latest. If you want to write, you can click on the Writing Prompts paperclip on the right to find all the latest prompts.
I use prompts every time I write. Sometimes the prompts are specific (“write about my first boss”) because that is what is on my mind, and other times the prompt is really general (“write about the color green”) because I need more abstraction for the day’s creativity.
Writing is how I create. Sure, I dabble in music. I have painted a few canvases. But, writing is the only way I can truly express myself creatively. When we write, we can paint a picture and show natural beauty, but we can also give it context. We can leave room for interpretation or not. I like the control writing gives us to express our creative selves.
I hope to have at least one prompt a week for y’all. I know you are busy, and I am certainly busy (earning my Ph.D. while teaching writing courses to college students), but it is important that we keep the pen on paper, so to speak (or, more realistically: the fingers on the keys). Whether you choose to write by fountain pen or by key, just keep doing it.
I will be posting to 500 Words (or More): Memoir Writing Prompts using my Promptly Portland pseudonym, but I will share a little bit about myself. My life has taken about as many twists and turns as anyone else’s. I was working in graphic design and doing quite fine when I up and quit one day to continue work on my B.A. in English (well actually it was Anthropology at the time, but the diploma says “English,” so that’s what counts). After graduating, I taught high-school English for six years and earned a Master’s Degree in English Literature during that time. With my M.A. in hand, I used my teaching experience to jump to collegiate instruction and gained great experience at several 4-year and 2-year institutions, but felt that I needed more schooling to refine my career, which leads to the present: I packed up and moved to the Pacific Northwest to enroll in a Ph.D. program while I continue to teach college classes in my new hometown. Of course this bio doesn’t account for a billion aspects of my personal life, but I am sure something will seep to the surface with each week’s posting. And, anyway, this isn’t about my life, it’s about yours.
So, here is the first installment of 500 Words (or More): Memoir Writing Prompt #1
I often find that my expectations are misleading. I can’t tell you how often I thought I would dislike a person (maybe judged her or him from across the room) only to find later that not only would I greatly admire the person, I had found a close friend. I have begrudgingly gone to events that I was sure would be horrible, yet I ended up having the time of my life. And, most tragically, I have predetermined the outcome of major aspects of my life, such as school, relationships, and jobs. I have come to accept that I am almost always wrong, and that I should “let life happen” rather than write the script beforehand.
Recall a relationship or event that has had a tremendous impact on your life. Think back to your expectations of that event or person. Write about the beauty of realizing you were wrong, the realization that life doesn’t always happen on your terms.
Until next time,
-Promptly Portland
