Post #68 – Women’s Memoirs, Writing Prompt – Kendra Bonnett and Matilda Butler
Christmas is a week from tomorrow. It’s snowing here in Maine. 
I have a roaring fire going and I’m curled up in front of it with my laptop, a cup of lemon-ginger tea and Mannheim Steamroller holiday music playing. And all three cats are sleeping peacefully. For those of you thinking, well of course it’s snowing…it’s Maine: I just want you to know that it was 53 earlier this week, when it was 27 in Texas. I was gloating…so naturally it’s been snowing ever since.
In my world, these are all perfect excuses for mixing it up a bit this week.
Even though it’s Friday, I’ve decided to post a memoir writing prompt. Matilda didn’t do one this week because I usurped her usual Tuesday spot for my Rosie the Riveter Legacy Bandana story.
But we know how many of you enjoy writing prompts–well, at least you look forward to Matilda’s prompts. I didn’t want you to have to wait until next week. And besides I have a little story to share…
Sunday, December 5th, I was in the back of the house. I couldn’t see Route 1, but I could hear traffic. Lots of traffic. Now that’s odd considering I live in Downeast Maine (Jessica Fletcher country to all you Murder She Wrote fans). We don’t ever get a lot of traffic, and especially not in winter.
I heard what sounded like truck after truck passing in front of my house. Big trucks, too.
Curious, I got up to look. A convoy of 18-wheelers stretched as far as I could see and was rolling down Main Street…Perdue trucks, Walmart trucks, Ryder Transportation, Portland Air Freight, Jagtrux and more. And in between each truck was a police or state trooper car with all the lights flashing.
Something was definitely up! I went to my computer and Googled “Maine truck convoy,” and there it was. Some 30 trucks were filled with balsam wreaths from the Worcester Wreath company in Harrington, Maine, and destined for Arlington National Cemetery. These truckers were participating in Wreaths Across America, a program that’s grown from Morrill Worcester’s first donation of 5000 wreaths in 1992 into a national program that this year placed more than 210,000 wreaths on veterans’ graves.
As I read, goose bumps popped up on my arms. Acts of generosity, thoughtfulness and patriotism always move me. A few tears welled up behind my eyes, and as I continued to read articles on the Internet, I thought…more stories worthy of legacy.
Memoir Writing Prompt
Our legacies run the gamut from gratitude and happiness to extreme sorrow and adversity. Many legacies recorded in memoirs focus on the difficult and how we overcame problems. Such stories are the source of inspiration. But today I thought that this is the season when we should search our souls for stories of gratitude and generosity. Here are your writing prompts…should you choose to accept the assignment:
1. What are you most grateful for this year? Is it that you’re watching my snow video from the warmth of your condo in Hawaii? Or that you’ll be getting together with your family for the holidays? Maybe it’s that you’re in your new home, haven’t had your current home foreclosed or that at your age you’re still able to live on your own. Make a list. I guarantee that the very process of thinking and writing will make you feel good. Then pick one item and write 500 words.
2. When you get together with family this holiday, or even if you just connect by phone or Skype, ask each person for a story of gratitude. Select one family story in which you have a point of view or involvement (otherwise it’s not memoir) and write 500 words. Then share the legacy of gratitude.
At the moment I’m grateful for the fact that our snow has stopped. We only got about six inches. I’m also grateful that I have plenty of wood to last me through the winter. Warm yourself by my fire video and get to writing.
Our warmest wishes to you this holiday season.
And if you’ve been meaning to pick up a set of our 5-DVD set, The [Essential] Women’s Memoir Writing Workshop: 21 Steps from Planning to Publication, we still have a few left and we’re honoring the discount price through the end of the year.
memoir writing prompt
writing tips
craft of memoir
memoir writing
writing
writing time gratitude
