Archive Master

The writers greatest well of inspiration lies in memory. Through hypnosis psychologists can help people remember minute details they thought they had long forgotten. When we write we put ourselves under hypnosis and rediscover and recreate the past. This months lessons experiment with a few tricks for mining memory.

K-2 Get visual
Though writers often use all their senses, if you had to pick one that would be hard to do without it would have to be sight. The following exercise help students to isolate sight and develop helpful habits of seeing in memory.

Bring in a family photo from home. Take your time and draw a picture of the photo and then write about what's happening in the photo. Add thought bubbles to show characters thoughts or speaking bubbles to show characters talking.
Talk with your students about how the photo was taken in one instant yet the more we think back and imagine ourselves back there, the more new details emerge. Our memories are like big closets stuffed with junk, the more we take the time to paw through it, the more chance we have to find treasures.

3-4 Memory Maps
Your memory is uncharted territory and like the first mapmakers it is your job to chart it on a big piece of blank paper. Begin by looking at real maps of the world. Notice the lands and the oceans and the forests. What are the oceans in your memory called.. What are the continents called. What are the countries called?
Example: On my map is the ocean of sadness and the mountains of joy.
In the oceans I put the day my father died. I drew a picture of me standing at his funeral. Above the mountains of joy I drew a picture of the people of South Africa singing freedom songs.

Write specific memories on your map and draw pictures of the memories to go along with them.

5-8 The Neighborhood Map
Draw a Birds eye view map of your neighborhood as a child. Label the houses and the places and the names of the people who lived there. Go back to your map later I the day or later in the week and add specific memories that occurred in each place on the map. Notice how one memory often one memory grows out of another memory.

9 -12 I remember / I don't remember

Part one (I remember)

This a great activity for mining memory.
Start by listing specific places of people or events you wish to write about. From your list pick one.
To do it well you must write for nine minutes without stopping and every time you get stuck write the words "I remember and begin again writing more details of from your memory. Give yourself permission to write your thoughts if no words come or if you can't describe the beauty of the tree, write about how you can't describe the beauty of the tree.

Part two (I don't remember)

Repeat the same activity but this time start with the words "I don't remember."

Talk with the class about surprising details which emerged in your writing. Talk about how the pen helps us to find details in memory and how often what we don't remember can be as interesting as what we do remember.