Describe the Land around Your Childhood Home

Your journal assignment for today is to describe the terrain or the countryside of the area around your childhood home. When I say describe, I mean just that. Provide sentences that capture how the countryside looked. Don’t just say: “I grew up 40 miles south of Fort Smith, Arkansas. Fort Smith has a population of…

Memoir Writing Is Perfect for the Elderly

In the above photographs, you see my mom. In the sepia-toned photo, you see my mom when she was about 20. That would have been 75 years ago. In the lower image, you see my mom now —  sitting. knitting, watching the time pass and marking her days. That photograph was taken a few days…

How to Get Into a Writing Groove – Just Write! One Word at a Time

If you are having difficulty getting into a writing groove, you may be suffering from a couple of issues. The most common problem for most writers is procrastination. Much of the time, Procrastination is linked to Perfectionism. Perfectionism often manifests itself as Fear. A Perfectionist is Afraid of making mistakes. Remember This: THERE ARE NO…

Let’s Write a Few Words about Our Childhood Homes

How to Participate in Memoir Mondays: All  you need is some kind of paper and a pencil or pen–or a computer with a place that you can write and save documents. When I had a Dell Computer, I wrote and saved my documents in Microsoft Word, but now that I have a Macbook, I write…

Memoir Mondays – A Week of Free Writing Prompts

I know it is not Monday yet, but because my calendar runs from Sunday to Saturday, I’m tossing an early-bird prize to you. Call it Memoir Monday Super Starter Sunday. Every Sunday, I’ll post 7 Free Writing Prompts so that you will have something to write about in your journal every day of the week….

Memoir Mondays: Who Are You?

Welcome to Memoir Mondays. Get Ready toRe-Experience the Time of Your Life We’ll Begin by Creating an About-Me Page But please understand that if you faithfully follow the exercises that are part of Memoir Mondays, your understanding of who you are will probably change. Be ready to refresh your mind and update frequently. Keeping a…

Memoir Mondays: Draw A Map of the Area Around Your Home

This is a map of the neighborhood where I lived as a child. For today’s Memoir Mondays entry, I want you to draw a similar map of your childhood neighborhood. Part A: Memoir Monday Map Assignment: Your map does not need to be perfect. I drew my map on a computer, and I used Photoshop’s…

How to Create A Journal and Goal-Setting Book for Students & Writers

I am teaching Writing about Literature to College Freshmen This Year, and I Love My Job! But yesterday was the final date for 2 assignments to be submitted, and — you guessed it, I was forced to give some students the grade of  zero. Keep guessing — Yes! Today, some of those students were begging…

#28Days Journal Challenge Prompt: Mindfulness

Yesterday I bought an Apple Watch, and I am already in love with 3 of its features that I didn’t know I’d get, along with my watch. First and very nice: All of my spam calls [and the less numerous valid calls] show up on my Apple Watch. Within seconds, I can dismiss or accept…