In this post we look at what memory is and how to use memory in writing.
What Is Memory?
Memory is a wonderful thing. Many parts of your brain work together to collect, encode, store, and retrieve sensory, short-term, and long-term recall of events, people, and experiences you’ve had throughout your life. Sometimes, especially with trauma, those memories can be buried deep within your mind. Your brain is trying to protect you from those memories. At other times, a memory is such a beautiful one that even the lightest perfume, like vanilla, can trigger feel-good emotions within you.
Memories
All your memories will fall into either the ‘these are a few of my favourite things’ column. Others will be in the ‘do not open this box’ column. But all of them are useful to a writer. They are an almost inexhaustible resource. Don’t be afraid to use them. In fact, using them is almost a requirement when creating a good story.
You will have memories of:
- People you loved – parents, grandparents, aunts or uncles, siblings, cousins, friends, boyfriends, spouses, children.
- People with whom you were friends or enemies.
- People you met once.
- People you interact with everyday but don’t know personally – your local coffee shop barista, for example.
- People you see everyday but don’t really interact with – the security guard outside the building you pass on the way to work.
- Interiors – offices, malls, shops, doctor’s surgeries, hospitals, vet’s waiting rooms, cars, ships, trains, places of worship, pubs, restaurants etc.
- Locations – cities, game parks, lumber yards, garden shops, drive-in movie theatres, ice-rinks, the beach, theatres, public swimming pools and their change rooms, university campuses, school yards, etc.
- Views – out of windows, from the edge of a cliff, out of an airplane, from the beach across the desert, across a field, in a forest. Don’t forget, views are never one way. Standing on a beach looking out over the sea is one view, but so is turning around and looking back at the fishing village, port, town, forest, desert, other people on the beach.
- Animals – pets is an obvious one, but there are also zoo animals, animals you saw in the wild, creatures you see every day; the frog that lives under the broken pot in the garden, the neighbour’s cat, the crow that sits on your gatepost every morning, the hadadas digging for worms on the lawn etc.
- Homes – the one(s) you grew up in, your grandparents’, your friends’, the boarding school you might have gone to etc.
- Food and Drink – home cooked, at restaurants, take-aways, etc.
- Clothing – school uniforms, military uniforms, wool, cotton, synthetics, wedding dresses, Lycra swimsuits that didn’t fit properly, socks that kept falling down, etc.
- Events – first day at junior or senior school or university, on your first job, being fired, made redundant, first date, breaking up, coming-of-age events, engagements, weddings, births, deaths, funerals, the look of delight or disappointment on a parent’s face, finding an old love letter your grandad wrote – big all small our lives are filled with events that can be translated into our writing.
- Food and Drink – home cooked, at restaurants, take-aways, etc.
- Clothing – school uniforms, military uniforms, wool, cotton, synthetics, wedding dresses, Lycra swimsuits that didn’t fit properly, socks that kept falling down, etc.
- Events – first day at junior or senior school or university, on your first job, being fired, made redundant, first date, breaking up, coming-of-age events, engagements, weddings, births, deaths, funerals, the look of delight or disappointment on a parent’s face, finding an old love letter your grandad wrote – big all small our lives are filled with events that can be translated into our writing.
Every memory is a mine of information.
- Physicality – what does the person, place, mode of transport look like?
- Senses – what did it/they smell like, sound like, taste like, behave.
- Surrounds – was the weather trying to kill you, or did it taste like champagne.
- At the time emotions – how did you feel at the time you experienced the event?
- Looking back emotions – our feelings about our memories change. How do they make you feel now.
- Music – a song can unleash a significant memory.
How To Use Memory In Writing
Yes, I hear you say, but I’m writing a space adventure not a memoir! Maybe, but the memory of not being picked up from school because your parents forgot you could easily be used to describe the feeling that an astronaut may feel if their spouse isn’t there to welcome them home after a mission. Of the feeling their child feels when they can’t be there for the kid’s sports day because they’re on a mission to Mars. You don’t have to describe the feeling you felt being forgotten at school, but you can use that confused sadness and anger to inform your protagonist’s emotion.
Every memory can feed your writing, whether you’re writing a period romance, a contemporary thriller, a comedy, or a dystopian story. While it may be your memory, it can be the thing that your character is experiencing. Rummage through your memory for something similar that you’ve experienced that can help you develop believable reactions, emotions, and experiences for your characters. The plot of your book is a series of steps from A to Z. The story is the experiences, encounters, and emotions your characters go through. Use your memories to give those life.
Memories may also be unreliable. This is great for causing conflict in fiction writing.
The Last Word
If you’d like to write for children, young adults, or adults, why not sign up for one of the rich and in-depth courses that Writers Write offers to learn how to write the best book you possibly can.
by Elaine Dodge. Author of The Harcourts of Canada series and The Device Hunter, Elaine trained as a graphic designer, then worked in design, advertising, and broadcast television. She now creates content, mostly in written form, including ghost writing business books, for clients across the globe, but would much rather be drafting her books and short stories.
Wordsmith At Large 