Memories Old & New

I came across a random writing prompt the other day: ‘What memory do you wish you could remember better?’

Distant memories, especially, often come to us in mere snippets of images or emotions. They can be fleeting, blurry or vague, leaving us wishing for a bit more. The author of the writing prompt was encouraging writers to unearth deeper details of favourite memories through consistent practice. This would be essential when writing memoir or creative non-fiction.

The fun about writing fiction is that memory may provoke a spark but all the story details can unfold any which way the writer conjures.

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Lazy, Hazy, Crazy Summer Writing

This title perfectly describes how I am enjoying writing during these mid-summer days. Well, not exactly lazily. More like leisurely.  I’m eager to write morning or evening pages and it is fun because there are no expectations attached. I commit to twenty minutes but almost always write longer.

It may be too soon to declare that a new habit is established but this latest attempt at the daily practice has continued for more than a month now. How freeing it is to just write direction-less.

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Home sweet home

home

The Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary defines home as “one’s place of residence” but also as “a place of origin”, which are often two very different places.  If this is the case, where truly is home? The concept of home is a familiar theme in many stories.  Characters often need to return home for one reason or another.  Perhaps to take care of a loved one, or because of a death.  Sometimes it is to find their way home during a long adventure, or even to fight an evil murderous clown.  Over the years I have left and returned to the Owen Sound area for various reasons, though thankfully none of them was ever an evil clown.

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