Writing that “Shows, not Tells”~ Childhood Memories
One woman’s thoughts about writing about memories:
My childhood memories are rich and varied.
I loved visiting my grandma’s apartment, with its fringed window shades and faint smell of eucalyptus. Her desk drawers, lined in green felt, spilled over with card decks, cocktail napkins, and golf tees. Every door in the house was fitted with wobbly crystal doorknobs. The bathroom smelled of Listerine.
My brother and I would sleep in the small bedroom off the kitchen—the very room our mom shared with her own brother growing up in downtown Chicago.
I can picture myself reaching way down into Grandma’s frost-filled chest freezer for the ever-present box of Eskimo Pies. Her well-stocked pantry and doily-covered tabletops contained loads of delectable treats I was often denied at home: pastries, chocolate-covered marshmallow cookies, and delicate bowls of jellied orange sticks and other candy.
This was the 1960s, long before big-box stores came on the scene. Together Grandma and I would walk to the corner of Roscoe and Broadway, where we’d explore the wonders of Simon’s Drugstore, Heinemann’s Bakery, and Martha’s Candies.
Those childhood memories of my grandma are largely synonymous with food.
In my mind’s eye, I can still picture driving from Illinois to Wisconsin beneath a canopy of crimson leaves against a blindingly blue sky. I remember Passover dinners with a million Jewish relatives in the basement of some wizened old uncle’s apartment building. Other childhood memories recall the mysteries of new baby brothers coming on the scene, building a hideout among the branches of a fallen tree, and giving my best friend’s parakeet a ride down the stairs in her aqua Barbie convertible.
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Another writer’s thoughts:
It is amazing how the simple things can mean the most to children. My childhood glimmers with memories of bubble wrap, playing under the sprinklers, visits to grandma's house and a solitary teddy bear named Ned. In the days before iPods, before computers were a necessity, there existed a world where every day was an adventure and the aim was to explore as much as possible as quickly as possible. I, along with my older sister and younger brother lived in this world of imagination as children. To us, our house represented the whole world. I remember the day we had to say goodbye to it.
I stand in the garden. Our backyard was the place of many of our adventures. It was a child's dream. In those days before the water restrictions were in place, our yard was green with life and smelled of summer all year long. A brick path weaved through the luscious grass in a snake like fashion, and garden beds strategically placed around the edges of the path dotted the scene like blotches of colour in an impressionists painting. Images flash from the depths of my mind. To the left was where we had discovered the family of ducks that decided to settle into our swimming pool. Over on the concrete was where the three of us had formed a band with tennis racket guitars. To the right was where I had lost my tooth amongst the tiny white pebbles of the driveway. Memories of lessons learned come forth. At the end of the path stands a tree. Short in stature but potent in the fruit that it bears. Cumquats. When I was two my sister mashed the cumquats from the tree, mixed them with dirt and fed it to me. From that day on I knew not to eat things from the ground. A bitterness surpassing that of the cumquats rises inside me. It's not fair. How can I be forced to leave this garden that taught me so much?
I step into the house through the backdoor. The wood has split in places, and flakes of white paint flutter to the ground with the sudden jolting of the door. Inside the house was where...
Some suggestions to get you thinking about writing about childhood memories:
22 Writing Prompts That Jog Childhood Memories
1. Describe one of your earliest childhood memories. How old were you? What bits and pieces can you recall?
2. Who was your best childhood friend? Write about some of the fun things you used to do together.
3. Can you remember your mom’s or grandmother’s kitchen? Use sight and smell words to describe it.
4. Describe the most unusual or memorable place you have lived.
5. Did you have your own bedroom growing up, or did you share with a sibling? Describe your room.
6. Were you shy as a child? Bossy? Obnoxious? Describe several of your childhood character traits. How did those qualities show themselves? Are you still that way today?
7. What childhood memories of your mother and father do you have? Describe a couple of snapshot moments.
8. Write about a holiday memory. Where did you go? What did you do? What foods do you remember?
9. Describe your favorite hideaway.
10. Did you attend a traditional school, or were you educated at home? Describe a school-related memory.
11. Think of a time when you did something you shouldn’t have done. Describe both the incident and the feelings they created.
12. Have you ever needed stitches, broken a bone, or been hospitalized? Describe a childhood injury or illness.
13. Do you have quirky or interesting relatives on your family tree? Describe one or two of them.
14. Describe your most memorable family vacation. Where did you go? Did something exciting or unusual happen? Did you eat new or unique foods?
15. Did you grow up with family traditions? Describe one.
16. Books can be childhood friends. What were some of your favorites? Why were they special?
17. Describe a game or activity you used to play with a sibling.
18. What were some of your favorite television shows as a child?
19. What was your most beloved toy? Describe its shape, appearance, and texture. What feelings come to mind when you think of that toy?
20. Think of a childhood event that made you feel anxious or scared. Describe both the event itself and the feelings it stirred up.
21. Write about some sayings, expressions, or advice you heard at home when you were growing up. Who said them? What did they mean? Do you use any of those expressions today?
22. What are your happiest childhood memories? Describe one event and the feelings associated with it.
Assignment: Using the “show, don’t tell” method of developing vivid detail, create a piece of writing that is based on a childhood memory. It doesn’t have to be a “big” event, just something that is meaningful to you. It also doesn’t matter how recent the memory is- it could be a recent memory. The point is to create a piece of writing that uses lots of detail, making the reader feel like they were almost *there* experiencing it with you. Approximate length: 1 page