A RECENT ONLINE MEMOIR CLASS class began much like every online memoir class I’ve taught. No one had agreed to this beforehand. No one had said anything. No memo had gone out. There was no round-robin email suggesting that we turn our writing in any particular direction at the same time we turn back our clocks. It just happened, just like it happens every year, and it provides a great lesson in how to choose a memoir topic.
The holidays — that stretch of dates that seems to now begin with the planning of the Halloween costume, and run until after January first — arrive each year, and each year they teach us something about where to get your memoir ideas.
There once was a time when the onset of the holidays was actually marked on the day after Thanksgiving. Or so it seemed to me. But that was when I was a child, I guess, and had no notion of the shopping/cooking/writing/sending/visiting marathon that apparently now begins in mid-October. Now I do. Do I ever. And while it means many things for us all, for memoir writers it means that while we are deep in rich territory (oh, that family behavior!), it also means that time is at a premium right now.
What to do? I suggest to go with what you’ve got. If it’s the harvest time, go with it. One recent student responded to this shift in the season by taking a kind of inventory of the people in her life who have helped her. And we were all profoundly moved. I loved the piece, particularly since it was being told in the season of reaping, where the backstory is that of taking stock of what we have. A fine theme right now, and one I’ve written about, as well.
What have you got right now? I know you’ve got lists. Have you ever thought of utilizing one in your writing? It’s a great device. Tidy and thorough, it stands up to any assignment, from comedy to tragedy, and everything in between. I love lists, and have written about them before. Want to try making a list into a piece of memoir. Maybe my attempt at this can help.
It’s an old journalism adage: Go with what you’ve got. So go with what you’ve got in this season. Use your lists, take stock, and write on.
