Reminiscences: Musings in Memoir — Prompt #1

      23 Comments on Reminiscences: Musings in Memoir — Prompt #1

PROMPT #1 — WIND

There was a desert wind blowing that night. It was one of those hot dry Santa Anas* that come down through the mountain passes and curl your hair and make your nerves jump and your skin itch. On nights like that every booze party ends in a fight. Meek little wives feel the edge of the carving knife and study their husbands’ necks. Anything can happen. You can even get a full glass of beer at a cocktail lounge.

~ Raymond Chandler

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Wind:  It can soothe or destroy, be portentious or calming, wreak destruction or provide a balm. There are hot winds and cold winds, headwinds and tailwinds, tradewinds and winds of change. A person who takes forever to get to their point is described as long-winded; one who is all talk and no action – particularly if the talk is grandiose – is a windbag. Bob Dylan claimed the answers (my friend) are blowin’ in the wind. The band Kansas proclaimed in ballad form that all we are is dust in the wind. Freddy Mercury lamented in Bohemian Rhapsody that any way the wind blows, nothing really matters…

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There is an Irish blessing that begins:

May the road rise up to meet you.
May the wind be always at your back.

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While I can’t say the wind has always been at my back — I have, in fact, faced not only metaphorical storms, but *actual* ones; I was a toddler during my first tornado — I can certainly appreciate the sentiment. And I’ve come to recognize that the gentle push-onward encouragements I’ve received in my life – even when it feels like those pushes are going to push me over because I’m so damned tired from walking ever uphill – have served as the wind at my back during times I particularly needed the forward motion.

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So for the first prompt in the Reminiscences summer writing project, please consider ‘wind’. (Both realistically and metaphorically.)

  • Have you weathered a storm?
  • Perhaps you’ve run like the wind?
  • Is someone in your life the wind beneath your wings, as Bette Midler sings?**
  • Have you been blown over by someone or something? Blown away?
  • Or maybe you have memories tied to Winnie the Pooh’s “Blustery Day”? 🙂

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The point of this writing project is to create new content by writing from memory, with a focus on the form of memoir.

Prompts will be posted on the 10th, 20th, and 30th of each month over the course of the summer. The purpose of the prompts is simply to provide inspiration. You are welcome to use the prompt literally or figuratively, or as a jumping off point that leads you to someplace else, but adherence to the prompt is not required.

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To play:

  1. Write a memoir-esque post.
  2. Link your post either to this prompt or to the Reminiscences project description page. (Use of the badge is optional.)
  3. Leave a comment below – you can use CommentLuv to create a live link to your post on my comment form – to let me know you’re playing.

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For more information about this summer writing project, see here.

If you have additional questions, please let me know.

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♦

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*I once alluded to this quote in my own writing. There was no carving knife involved but the nerves were jumping for sure. 😉

**There is a new music-themed meme this month that Jae Lynn at Rantings From A Nonsensical Mind is running. If you are musical and/or find lyrics that inspire you in your memoir writing, I encourage you to link up to both projects. 🙂

23 thoughts on “Reminiscences: Musings in Memoir — Prompt #1”

  1. missy

    Hi Mrs Fever,
    I wanted to get in touch as some of my content has been stolen and reproduced on another site and I noticed your post there too. I have been in touch and have an email with the information needed to make a report but I wasn’t sure how to pass it on to you.
    missy
    missy recently posted…Picture Perfect – avoiding the negativesMy Profile

    Reply ↓
  4. Chris

    I loved the Chandler reference —
    he loved to capture that dry, scratchy feel of a gust off the desert.

    Outstanding write altogether, and that’s not just hot air ! 😀

    Reply ↓
    2. Mrs Fever Post author

      He is one of my favorite authors. A reviewer once described his writing as that of a “slumming angel” — it’s a brilliant description of his style.

      Reply ↓
  6. Polly Cullen

    This looks to be a great writing project, my blog is very new (in it’s 1st week) but I would love to use your prompt and link back here. It will be interesting to read what others have written too.

    Reply ↓
        1. Mrs Fever Post author

          It’s great! 🙂

          (I left you a comment but you have to approve it — that’s typical on WordPress; being that your blog is new, I just thought I’d mention it.)

          Reply ↓
    1. Mrs Fever Post author

      Thank you for joining in! I just read your post. (You will probably have to manually approve my comment.)

      Take your time and “catch up” in your own time. I’ll look forward to reading more. 🙂

      Reply ↓

  12. Pingback: Wind Beneath My Wings #Monday Musical Memories – My Corner

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