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 and save documents  on one of my many WordPress blog sites. I have also begun using Notions on my computer. That is my place to save works in progress, to create lists, etc. Notion is the best free organizer available for computers. More about that later. 

How to Create an Interactive Journal in Notion – Jacki Kellum Gotta Notion

Today, we’ll write about our homes, but before you begin to write, create a simple list of some words that remind you of your childhood home. Here is my list:

Home

1. Cotton Patches
2. Cotton Lint Flying in the Autumn Air
3. The Ben Franklin Dime Store
4. The Corner Grocery Store
5. The Tiny Library in My Hometown & Reading Chicken Little Repeatedly
6. The Book Mobile
7. Camp
8. Campfires
9. Swimming in the Lake
10. The Weeping Willow in My Backyard
11. The Empty Lot 2 Houses Down from My House
12. The Little Empty House on the Empty Lot
13. Gardens
14. My Grandmother’s Flower Gardens
15. Walking to my Grandparents’ House
16. The Rose-Colored Chenille Furniture in My Grandparents’ Living Room
17. Spending the Night at My Grandparents’ House
18. Breakfast at My Grandparents’ House
19. Watching Gunsmoke at My Grandparents’ House
20. My Grandparents’ Feather Bed
21. My Grandparents’ Back Sunporch, Where Grandma Washed Clothes in a Wringer Washer
22. Outside Clothes Lines & the Smell of Laundry Dried Outside
23. The Little Den in My Childhood Home
24. The 60s-Style Vinyl-Covered Couch in the Den of My Childhood Home. It Was Orange.
25. Watching the Wizard of Oz with My Dad
26. My Dad was Like the Wizard of Oz 
27. Going to the Woods with My Dad to Gather Wild & Natural Foods
28. Wild Acorn Bread
29. Deep-Fried Wild Elderberry Blossoms, Covered in Powdered Sugar
30. Watching the Beatles on the Ed Sullivan Show
31. Surviving Lawrence Welk Shows on Television
32. Watching Captain Kangaroo
33. Eating My First TV Dinner on a Tray, While Watching Television

Keep this List Open. You Will Continually Remember More Things to Add to the List.

I have listed 33 things that will become 33 separate writing prompts for my journal.
Your list should be growing, too. 

For Today’s Home Prompt, Pick One Item on Your List and Write about It,

Describe it. How old were you at the time of your memory? Why was this thing or place important to you? Force yourself to write as much as you can about this thing or place. Write quickly in a stream of consciousness. Don’t stop to correct your grammar, check your spelling, or make any corrections at all. Just write quickly and freely. Empty your mind. You can edit later.

Writing in A Stream of Consciousness

The House or Home as a Theme in Literature

The Tuck Family Home in Tuck Everlasting – Home As Paradise

Assignment for Next Monday:

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

1. When you have written about at least one of the things or places on your list about home, draw a map of your childhood neighborhood. If you lived in the country, draw a map of the route from your school toward your childhood home.
2. Make a list of the important places or things in your childhood neighborhood.