Post #93 – Women’s Memoirs, Writing Prompt – Kendra Bonnett and Matilda Butler
Six months ago, not long after I arrived in Oregon, I wrote a memoir writing prompt about the Winter Solstice. Actually, if you remember, that was the same day that we had a total lunar eclipse. Quite an event. I wasn’t planning to create a pair of prompts by writing about Summer Solstice, but when I noticed that June 21 was a Tuesday, my usual day for prompts, it became irresistible.
When I lived on a hillside in the country just outside Gilroy in California, I watched the afternoon sun make its way from the southwest to the northwest over the six month time from December 21 to June 21. Then it started its way back down to the southwest position. Although I have an expansive view of horizon from my current study, the Oregon sky doesn’t cooperate. The many rainy days mean I don’t have that daily mental measure of the sun’s movement. Actually, that’s why I was surprised to find that the longest day of the year is already here. To celebrate, we’re heading over to the beach at Newport later today so that we can watch the sun as it slips into the ocean on this longest day of the year.
Let’s quickly consider the Summer Solstice. As you probably know, the word solstice is composed of two parts — sol meaning sun and -stice from -stitium meaning stoppage. The sun stops and reverses direction on this day.
I don’t know about you but I grew up using the phrases Summer Solstice and Winter Solstice. When I was young, I thought if it was summer in Oklahoma City, then it was summer everywhere. Obviously, I know better now. Yet, I’m perfectly willing to use the phrase Summer Solstice without acknowledging that in Australia, for example, this day comes during their winter and therefore is really their Winter Solstice. So an event that represents warmth for me can mean chilliness for someone else.
Memoir Writing Prompt
This writing prompt requires some thought and reflection. Think of a time or event or person that brought you happiness while that same time or event or person brought someone else sadness. You can vary the emotions, just make them polar opposites. You can be on the positive or the negative side of the emotion. Not everyone is pleased by the same circumstances.
Reflecting on and then writing about these opposite reactions triggered by the same circumstance will help you be more thoughtful in your memoir writing. For now, write for five minutes about this. Then think about other times that this has happened. What does it tell us about ourselves and about others in our lives?
Another Women’s Memoirs Writing Prompt that you may like:
Memoir Writing Prompts; Winter Solstice and More
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