Exercise for writing a memoir: turn your notebook sideways

Because I'm working on a memoir, I was recently advised to read Marion Roach Smith's The Memoir Project: A Thoroughly Non-Standardized Text on Writing & Life. She provides an interesting exercise in the book to help to you get your stories down on paper and gather material to share. Essentially, the approach involves noting details of a specific story at the top of your page, then turning your notebook sideways to write about why this story is important to you. The author describes the process as follows:

„Here's a tip I learned from my husband, a fine former reporter and a really great newspaper editor: Get yourself a pack of inexpensive spiral pocket notebooks, and when you are taking in a landscape — whether emotional or physical — turn that notebook sideways, like a sketchbook. I know how crazy this sounds, but you won't care after you see how effortlessly it signals your subconscious that you're looking for something different. Turn it vertically to report the who, what, when, and where of the topic. Go sideways for the why, where you deepen and broaden your view. Your subconscious loves little cues like this; they help you connect with those screen door slams and childhood survival skills.

Don't think so? Ever notice how distinct smells send you reeling back twenty years or how the way a man wears his hat or sips his tea conjures memories of a long-​lost love? It's a do-it-yourself world when writing memoir; we need that screen door of yours to slam just right, and if all it takes is to turn a notebook sideways, I say turn the damn notebook sideways and reap the rewards.

Being hospitable begins with the tools you need for writing what you know — notebooks, pens, and a clean desk — and then paying attention to the goods, the sounds of those porch doors.