Throughout our lives, certain places have a lasting impact on us. In some way, those places shape us. At the time, we don’t always realize the role a place has played in our life.
Some places influence how we see the world. Other places shape how we see ourselves. A place might help us grow in confidence. It might underscore our beliefs. A place might even change how we see ourselves.
It’s often easier to recognize the impact of a particular place in later years. Hindsight shows us the ways that place influenced our life. Our writing prompt this month is an invitation to reflect on place that shaped or even changed you in some way.
A Creative Brainstorming Exercise
The memory of a place that shaped or changed you might not come to mind quickly. It’s easier to remember people, events, or even descriptions of a place, rather than recognizing the influence of a place.
Instead of just writing about a place, this writing prompt invites you to brainstorm how certain places affected you. It’s an invitation to explore possibilities.
Fifteen minutes of brainstorming exercises your creative muscles and gives you a chance to explore memories. That material might shape your future writing. Or it might just be a helpful creative exercise. Either way, this is your chance to explore significant places in your life.
Helpful for All Kinds of Writing
This exercise is not just for writers working on life stories, memoirs or family histories. Memories of places can be helpful for all kinds of writing: business books, how-to writing, essays, sharing wisdom, and more. Memories of a place can bring to mind different stories, lessons, examples, and details that blend in with your current or future writing project.
As you explore those memories of a places, you might discover a place the shaped the way you grew up, your outlook on life, the way you see the world and others. You might uncover memories of a place related to a turning point in your life or a significant relationship. You might recall a place that stirred a particular passion, insight, or idea or prompted you to develop a skill or even a career path. Places shape us in so many ways.
Three Approaches
Approach 1: Brainstorming about Places
If you don’t have particular places stirring in your mind, this is a chance for you to do some creative brainstorming. Set a timer for 15 minutes. Start thinking about significant places in your life. Jot down places, maybe a few details, whatever comes to mind. If you have some thoughts about one way a place might have shaped you, just make some notes.
You don’t need to write a paragraph in those 15 minutes. You’re just brainstorming. That’s one way memories get stirred. If you think you might like to follow up on any of those memories, you can set aside those notes for your next creative writing time, or for a future project.
Approach 2: Remembering through a Photograph
Sometimes it’s easier to remember places when you start with a photograph. If you have photos of places that have been an important part of your memories, go ahead and choose one. It doesn’t have to be the most significant place. You’re just going to let the place in that photo inspire your creative exercise.
Set a timer for 15 minutes. Write down words that describe the place in the photo. Think about what that place has meant to you, and jot down those ideas. If you still have time, do a little brainstorming about the reasons or ways that place might have shaped you. You’re not writing in paragraph form; just jot down some bullet-point thoughts. Then set aside your notes in case you’d like to revisit them in the future.
Approach 3: Freewriting about a Place
As you’ve read about this writing prompt, you may already have a place that’s come to mind. Don’t worry if there are other places that might have influenced you. Start with whatever place came to mind.
Set a timer for 15 minutes and write freely. Don’t focus on complete sentences or grammar or coherent ideas. Just write whatever comes to mind as you think about how that place shaped you. Whatever you write, set it aside in your notes for any future project where that memory might be helpful or worth exploring further.
This writing prompt and these three approaches can be revisited at any time. If you’ve brainstormed about several places, maybe you want to write about one in a future freewriting exercise. Or maybe you want to use your brainstorming list to look up photos of places. The next time you do a freewriting exercise, you can choose one photo to focus on.
All of these approaches exercise your creative and writing muscles, prompt your memories, inspire ideas, and give you notes and thoughts for future writing projects. Enjoy the process and see what you discover.
Janet Eriksson 