Post #22 – Women’s Memoirs, Writing Prompt – Kendra Bonnett and Matilda Butler
Written by: Promptly Portland
The last day of teaching for the week. The colleges where I teach English are dismissing classes early so I will have time for my own writing tomorrow. As I drove to work this morning, I began reflecting on the approaching holiday. When I was a kid, each person 
seated around the dining table was called on to state one thing she (or he) was grateful for. We only started passing the mashed potatoes, gravy, green beans, cranberry sauce, sweet potatoes, and slices of turkey after each person had expressed gratitude.
In those days, I just wanted to get on with the food. But now, as I look back on that experience, I realize that it was the one time of year when it was all right to talk about being thankful. Now, I incorporate gratitude more often — grateful for family, for relationships, for work (especially these days), for health, and more. But, I always think about our family tradition on Thanksgiving. Even if I am with people who don’t ask each person to declare gratitude, I silently state my thankfulness.
Here’s a way to take this seasonal tradition and turn it into a memoir writing prompt:
500 Words (or More): Memoir Writing Prompt #9
1. Think of a scene in your life that you are grateful for. Rather than global statements, imagine a very specific scene. It could be a time with a best friend or a family member, a colleague who helped you when you were behind in your work, a special day of a vacation. Remember the specific time. Why are you grateful? Write about the scene trying to convey the emotions. Then conclude with why you are grateful.
2. Having written about a real moment of gratitude, I’d now like you to think about a specific situation where your actions or the actions of another person mean that it was a dreadful time. Try to remember the scene exactly as it took place. Write the scene but give it a new ending. What might the other person have done differently that would have made the moment special rather than terrible. What might you have done differently? Now write the scene.
I hope this writing prompt will enable you to think about the many ways you are grateful for your life’s experiences. Perhaps you bring a few of those to your Thanksgiving table and utter them silently before you begin your feast. Have a wonderful day.
Until next time,
-Promptly Portland
