Our Family Lines February newsletter 2023
Write Sounds
Explore sounds when you’re writing events from your life.
What do certain noises and music mean to you?
The Sounds of Your Life
Have you ever been walking somewhere and heard a sound that transports you to another place? Maybe a bird song takes you back to a hiking trip from three years ago. Maybe a snippet of music from a passing vehicle takes you to a high school dance. Maybe the sound of a passing airplane overhead makes you remember an old friend who lives far away. Whatever the noise and memory, sounds are good ways of reminding us about our lives.
Memory Jogs
Sounds tap into our long-term memories and feelings, both good and bad. Use sounds to jog your memory. They’re connected. It’s kind of like the Pavlov’s Dog study. (Dogs could be conditioned to salivate at the sound of a bell if that sound was presented at the time that they were given food.) The sound of a schoolyard buzzer to this day may get your heart thumping because it reminds you of how excited you were for track and field practice. Capture that moment and those feelings in vivid description. Weave in these "sound tidbits" throughout your memoir.
Here is an example:
Whenever I hear a blue jay trill, I’m immediately carried to a boggy field in Nova Scotia. I’m five years old again and having a picnic with my parents and two younger sisters. In the distance, see giant green stalks that explode into big brown cattails, my middle sister’s pink and orange striped knitted cap and my mother’s long brown hair blowing in the breeze. We’re all eating salmon sandwiches that have been doled out from a yellow plastic bread bag. The blue jay sings in the distance and will forever be linked to this day.
Music as Inspiration
Turn on some music and use it as inspiration while you are working on your story. If you’re writing about your childhood, find a soundtrack from the era you grew up in. If you’re writing something that makes you feel joy, tune into uplifting songs with a quick tempo. If you’re writing a travel story, go there with the music you’ve selected.
Find what resonates with your story.
Deaf and Hard of Hearing
I’m not deaf or hard of hearing so I can’t speak for that community. Many do enjoy music and here is an article about how the way they experience music is different than the way hearing people experience music.
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Memoir Prompt
Choose a song that sparks a memory for you.
What memory does the song awaken?
Tell that story.
STORRY NEWS
I’m currently working on memoirs for two families.
One is a modern story about divorce and finding yourself in an unfamiliar place without loved ones.
The second memoir stretches back one hundred years and includes several branches of one family and a grandfather's service in the Canadian Forestry Corps in the Second World War.
Both memoirs are legacies, connections, for future generations.
Need a little push?
I’ll coach you to finish your stories.