Choosing a Topic

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Permalink Reply by Emily Doolin Aulicino on July 18, 2009 at 12:41am

There are many ways I find topics. Here are a few.

1. From online resources (Google Writing topics) Also use online Time lines that cover your life time.

2. From books on writing

3. As I teach writing classes, I often get ideas from others who write. As people use this forum to post their stories, you will get more ideas as well. Join a local writing class for personal writing (not creative writing...that's a different animal.)

4. Carry a note pad to jot down these ideas that come to mind as you go about your daily routine. I also keep one beside my bed. (I do my best composing while just falling asleep or wakening, OF COURSE. Sometimes by the time I write it down, I struggle to compose it as nicely as my mind created it.)

5. Write about what motivates you at the time you sit down to write.

Permalink Reply by Ginger R Smith on July 22, 2009 at 7:55am

I have been inspired the most by the photographs I have in my possession. I would find it more difficult to write about my grandparents' wedding if I did not have any pictures of the event. I also have a ton of pictures of my great-grandfather during his college years, so I will be writing a short essay about his time spent at college, how he met and courted my great-grandmother, what events and organizations he participated in, and about what the climate was like back in college in the 30s and how different it was from today.

Permalink Reply by Emily Doolin Aulicino on July 23, 2009 at 12:44pm

Thank you Ginger. I address the use of photos in my "Memoing" My Memories booklet. I also suggest using an heirloom you have received..or some other artifact.

I look forward to you posting some of your stories. When we share stories it inspires others and gives them new ideas.

Thank you,
Emily

Permalink Reply by Karen Rhodes on August 18, 2009 at 10:02am

I have written down some of my memories, from here and there. I think something I see or read or hear triggers the stories. My mood at the time can be a trigger -- there's a familiar feeling, when did I feel that way before? Oh, yeah . . . And I put something down.