Yesterday I was telling a friend about a favorite childhood memory. My family lived on seven acres of woods, with a lovely creek running through it. As I told my friend about the fun of playing by the creek, he asked "have you written about that?" I realized I had not, but vowed to do so as soon as we hung up the phone.
I was in the process of making notes about all the different aspects of growing up in that particular area; the creek, the woods, the animals, the hills... and the memories just kept coming!
When I work with students in my life-writing workshops, I first ask them to make a list of 100 memories from their childhood. They almost always start to insist they can't remember that much. But I say "Just start the list, and don't stop until you've reached 100." It's amazing that they can always come up with that many eventually. One event will remind them of another, and another, and another. And so it goes.
And so it went with me. After adding a dozen more memories to my list, I wrote about the one that started the conversation, playing by - and in - the creek. And now I have several more story topics to add to my on-going book.
What's your favorite childhood memory? Take 30 minutes today to write about it, then take another 30 minutes to make your list of 100 memories.
For hundreds of topics to help you get started, you can order "Write Your Life Story in 28 Days" from http://www.lifestorylady.com
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