Motherhood Memoir Month is a time to think through our stories of motherhood by reading and/or writing about ourselves and the stories that shape us.May begins with May Day and moves toward Mother’s Day, which might uncover conflicted feelings for some of us–but all are worth writing down.
Writing is a gift- one you can give yourself and another person. During this Mother’s Day month, consider writing out stories from your past, present, or future even, then share them as a gift with your mother, child, or self. You might even look more closely at some of the difficult memories in an attempt to uncover a new point of view; perhaps you’ll discover a hidden sense of resolution or find closure.
Writing is cathartic, enabling us to bring our thoughts to the forefront, transforming what feels abstract as it swirls through our minds. When we put those thoughts down in black and white words on the page (or in purple gel ink) we can edit, it can change our thoughts. Moving words on the page, sometimes crossing them out or even erasing them, always helps me redefine how I think and feel. Writing creates new paths in our brains and helps us find new ways to walk down well-worn paths, opening up our view.
After teaching college writing, I now devote my time to my own writing. This blog is my lab where we can collaborate, commiserate, and rejoice together over this sojourn of writing our stories of motherhood and beyond, because we’re all in this together. I’m here to inspire and be inspired. I use ekphrasis- art that speaks out- to jump start many of my writing sessions, so I’ll share more about this in the coming days.
During May a few writers and myself will provide encouragements and prompts 3-5 days a week, hoping to inspire you to join in or just enjoy. My goal is to write something on those Memoir days (much less than NaNoWriMo which sets your goal at about 1700 words per day every day for the month of November). If you’d like to join us, set your own realistic, but challenging, goal.
Most writing goals are words per day and days per week. But you can decide what works best for you. I can always find 10 minutes, so I start there, a goal that is easy to reach but challenging if I try to do it 5 days a week. Maybe your goal is a story you want to get down, start to finish. Whatever it is, post it somewhere you can see it. And feel free to post it on the Mamomemo Facebook page in the comments- accountability helps us all. Let’s do this together, spurring each other on to good works and faithfully writing our way forward.
Here’s a prompt: On May Day in some cultures, children go barefoot for the first time. Whatever your age today, walk barefoot in the morning dew or snow…and put work aside for at least a few moments to enjoy the exuberance of spring. Then write a few lines about how it feels.
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