• Have you noticed that when you
encounter a
childhood or teenage
friend, your mind immediately races
back to "that
time" in your life. Or you
see an old photo. Suddenly you are
there – living it again.
• Our
memory prompts will help you "remember" times in your life and the
significant people who lived it with you. It is a trip down memory lane.
• Every story begins with one
sentence, just the way you talk. Write a story about something in
your life that was meaningful to you. When finished, sit back and enjoy it.
Later, you may want to write about another experience that mattered to you.
• Do not concern yourself with
sentence structure, spelling, or exact details. Your first goal is to simply get
a memory down on paper. Just write it the way it comes. Say what you want to say.
Then put it away for a day or two. When you go
back and read the story again, you will remember things you want to add.
WHAT IF I DON'T REMEMBER DETAILS
•Memory in the brain is like a computer. All your memories are
stored away just waiting to be called forth. They are filed away so effectively
and economically that we think we have "forgotten." Here is the way to
access memories.
•Spend a few minutes "pondering" on that
time in your life. PONDERING is like asking your computer to find a file you
haven't used in a long time. Your brain begins a
"search." To your surprise, a little memory will pop up.
Ponder again.
Another tiny memory will come forth, related to the first memory. Give this
process some time and it will work. Another help is to "talk" about
that time in your life with another person. And pull out old photos and
letters. The mere act of talking about it
will cause other little details to reveal themselves. And so the process goes.
•Now see
Starting
To Write to set the stage.
•Read
Writing
Examples to see short
excepts of what others have written, much
the same way they would "tell" the story to
another
person. And this is how your
posterity wants it to read.