Post #51 – Women’s Memoirs, Writing Prompt – Kendra Bonnett and Matilda Butler
By Promptly Portland
Pardon the reference to the phrase Capital One uses in its commercial – “What’s in your wallet?” But, these words occurred to me when I learned recently that in one study, 88% of lost wallets were returned to their owners if it contained a photo of a baby. According to the study, 42% of people who found lost wallets returned them. But if the wallet had a baby picture, the return rate went way up. It’s likely that your wallet does have a picture of a child because a survey by GfK Roper Public Affairs Media showed that 90% of all women and 80% of all men carry pictures of their children.
That led me to this week’s writing prompt:
500 Words (or More)
1. Look in your wallet. Do you have any photos? Children? Grandchildren? Pets? Write a brief story about this photo. Go deep. Think first about the essence of this person. Why is she or he important to you? Why is she or he important to others? What is the person’s greatest strength and where does this come from? What is the person’s greatest weakness? Is she or he aware of this weakness and how does she or he try to overcome this weakness? Let this be a short character profile as it will improve your skills in writing about people in your memoir.
2. Don’t have a photo in your wallet? Don’t feel badly, I don’t either. Imagine what picture you would put in your wallet. Would it be a child, grandchild, or pet? Determine what the photo would be and then go deep. Even without a real photo, write about why the person is important to you. How would you describe the person? Would it be physically? Emotionally? What about the person’s personality or traits or attitudes? Craft a short character profile centered on the photo you can imagine you would carry in your wallet.
Until next time,
Promptly Portland
memoir writing prompt
writing tips
craft of memoir
memoir writing
writing
