Christmas Memories

“MAY YOU LOOK BACK ON THE PAST WITH AS MUCH PLEASURE AS YOU LOOK FORWARD TO THE FUTURE.” Quoted by Paul Dickson in Toasts There is something comforting about memories of Christmas Past. Our links to the  past seem to  keep us anchored in the present and hopeful for the future. Tradition brings a sense of order, even solace as we face our first Christmas without our beloved father. My siblings and I recently shared some of our own Christmas memories and I found they were all different: My brothers remember playing Chinese Checkers or electric trains under the tree with Christmas music playing on the stereo while Dad sat nearby in the recliner reading  the paper. Here’s a Bing Crosby song In This  Wonderful White World of Winter that...

Posted by on Dec 18, 2010 in Lifewriting Craft, memoir-writing, Truth in Memoir, Uncategorized | 4 comments

Finding the River Running Through Your Story

“ WHEN WE START TO LOOK FOR THE UNDERCURRENT THAT CONNECTS ALL PARTS OF OUR STORY, WE BEGIN TO NOTICE THE RIVER RUNNING THROUGH IT.” Mary Carroll Moore, author,artist, teacher ,How to Plan,Write and Develop a Book Sometimes when I sit down to write, I know exactly what I am going to write about but at other times I find myself being led by my story or memory or scene. Memories pop up like plastic balls from a child’s toy until I relent and include them. My point is,it seems like the theme will reveal itself as long as I keep writing and allow myself to be open to the process as it unfolds. In her blog post “Finding Theme” from How to Plan,Write and Develop a Book , author, artist and teacher Mary Carroll Moore claims that...

Posted by on Oct 29, 2010 in character development, elements of story, identifying themes, Lifewriting Craft, memoir-writing | 6 comments