MEMOIR BOND ON PAGE , PROMPTING THE WORD FELLOW
WORD FELLOW SHOPSHEER PAGE
Brainstorming a Memoir: Prompting the Word Fellow
Before you begin, I want you to know that you do not need to rush through this.
This workshop prompt is designed for those who prefer to move slowly or feel unsure on the first attempt. You may pause as often as needed, return to earlier steps, and rewrite during the brainstorming stage in order to stay with the task. Your challenge is not to rush toward completion too quickly.
Assess yourself. Do you feel both excited and uncertain, enjoying your draft one moment, then doubting it the next? Let that be. This workshop space is meant to feel like a friendly conversation between you and your story. Listen closely to yourself until what you are trying to say becomes clearer.
You don’t need to be overly serious at the start. Instead, pay attention to your happy accidents: surprising sentences, unexpected turns, and quiet revelations. Let your language breathe. In doing so, you begin to form a bond between your first draft and its becoming.
Week One: Let's Be Honest
Day 1–2: You and the Reader You Don’t Yet Know
Write a short letter to a reader you don’t know yet. Imagine they are drawn to something you once cared deeply about. Speak to this nameless reader with honesty. Tell them your story, allowing it to unfold naturally; it does not need a formal beginning or ending.
Day 3–4: What You Show and What You Don’t
List the details of a place you immediately notice, alongside those that require a closer look to become familiar. Then write a scene using these details. Let the images carry the meaning; avoid explanation.
Day 5–7: Writing the Bond on Page
Recall a specific moment. Write this memory twice: first, as you remember it; then, as if a reader is remembering it with you. Notice what shifts when the memory becomes shared.
Week Two: Entrust the Writing to a Reader
Day 8–9: What You Owe the Truth
Choose a difficult memory. Attend to the range of emotions it evokes. Name and describe these emotions according to their intensity. Use concrete details, sensory images, and specific moments to ground your description.
Day 10–11: Seeing Through the Reader’s Eyes
Imagine a reader entering your scene. What would they immediately recognize? What might feel unfamiliar? Where might they see themselves reflected in what unfolds?
Day 12–13: What Stays After the Story
Rewrite the ending of a scene without fully concluding it. Let the moment remain open, as if it continues beyond the page.
Day 14: The Quiet Ending That Isn’t an Ending
Write a final paragraph that feels like the close of a conversation, but not the closure of a story.End of Process
If you’ve made it to the last day of this brainstorming process, congratulations. At this stage, writing is less about finishing a draft and more about staying close to the details of your story. Something begins to happen in the slow or uneven writing: a bond on the page emerges. The memoir starts to take shape as your understanding of yourself deepens and becomes encoded in language.
