Post #188 – Women’s Memoirs, Writing Prompts and Life Prompts – Kendra Bonnett and Matilda Butler
Where Does the Time Go?
I suppose the question mark is not necessary. We know where the time goes — into one project after another. Then add in some cooking and eating, family time, and a smidgeon of sleep and we all know what just happened to time.
But today I mention time because Kendra and I have been so busy working on new projects and materials that I haven’t been doing much blogging. My apologies.
My recent teaching brought back into sharp focus the importance of what we see. Did you know, for example, that we process 36,000 visual images per hour? I’m writing this as the days in Oregon are long and still getting longer. Today we have 15 hours and 7 minutes of light. Let’s use that time to calculate how many visual images my brain will process today — about 540,000.
Stop and think about that. More than half a million images. And that is in just one day.
Although I am usually up about 18 hours per day (I’m not big on sleep), I use the number of daylight hours because there is considerably more visual stimulation when I can see the McDonald Forest next to the east side of my home, track the progress of the wild turkey with her newly hatched poults as they make their way across the back garden, look at the young buck with his just emerging antlers, watch the blooming honeysuckle vine move in the gentle morning breeze, catch sight of the long-tailed gray squirrel scampering up the Oregon oak, wave to my neighbor as she comes out to sweep her deck, and more and more and more. About 35,994 more in this hour alone.
Although all of our senses play an important role in our daily lives, although they all may trigger memories at one time or another, although they all belong in our writing, it is sight that is always front and center. Eighty percent of all information processed by the brain is, that’s right, visual.
Writers and Sight
There are many ways that writers can draw on sight to enhance storytelling, but today I want to concentrate on just one. Use sight to describe the people in your memoir. To do this well you need to slow down. You want to write about your life — the people, the events, how life changed you and how you have (or maybe have not yet) seized control of life and made your own changes. It is so easy to get wrapped up in the telling that you leave out the sensory details that are vital. It takes sensory details to clearly etch your story in your reader’s mind’s eye.
Consider just the intersection of sight and characters. To fully describe the people you will eventually reveal their:
But in writing, as you probably know, just three things are important — focus, focus, focus. That’s why we don’t need to worry about a comprehensive description of people today. We don’t even need to think about all the people in your memoir. Just focus about one person.
I would urge you to develop a complete visual description of yourself, but I’ve been teaching too long to try that as a writing prompt without knowing you better. Most people find it difficult to write about themselves. If pushed, most memoirists can write more about their mothers than themselves. If you feel you are ready to develop a visual profile of yourself, go for it. This is a great exercise. Eventually, you will need to do this. Otherwise, choose someone else who has a large role in your memoir.
Are you ready to write a visual description? If so, go ahead.
How do others do this?
If not, then perhaps looking at how others craft visual descriptions will help prime your visual writing pump. I have done this as an exercise for myself many times. I’ve delved into both fiction and nonfiction writers. Until this week, I’ve looked for complete descriptions. But I decided to challenge myself to narrow my focus even more and just look for descriptions of:
It is interesting to look at quite a few descriptions of just one visual element. Here are my examples. Perhaps they will begin to trigger your own memories of the person you are going to describe. You may want to spend some time looking for your own examples.
Descriptions of Eyes
Anthony Trollope, Barchester Towers (written in the mid-1850s)
Julia Dahl, Invisible City, published 2014
Jane Austin, Pride and Prejudice(published in 1813)
Jacqueline Winspear, Leaving Everything Most Loved (Published April 8, 2014) This is the latest of the Maisie Dobbs stories.
Descriptions of Hair
Anthony Trollope, Barchester Towers
Julia Dahl, Invisible City
Jane Austin, Pride and Prejudice
Memoir Writing Prompt
Here are the specifics of your writing prompt assignment.
1. Think about one person in your story and write down her name.
2. Think about one scene in your story that includes that person. Be as specific as possible. Write a sentence or two that summarizes the scene.
3. Write a visual description of the person you named above. Include not only facial features but the way the person is dressed in the scene. Write how the person looks in a way that another person could recognize her or him.
4. If you like, you can make a list. You don’t have to write full sentences.
5. Then think about again this scene. Write it, revealing a little of how the person looks based on your list. You don’t reveal the person all in a single sentence. You might save some of the material for a second or third scene. Work the details in so that they enhance the story.
6. And remember. Slow down. Bring the reader along as you introduce this person into the scene.
7. And finally, have fun. Enjoy the process.
