Exercises for writing memoirs: making maps
I love studying maps, drawing them, and seeing them in memoirs. And I recently found a map-drawing exercise in Bill Roorbach's Writing Life Stories: How to Make Memories into Memoirs, Ideas into Essays, and Life into Literature.
This is how the exercise works: draw a map of a place that has special meaning for you that you want to talk about in your memoir (e.g. the neighborhood in which you grew up or your favorite vacation getaway, but also possibly the one in which you experienced some challenges). Include as many details as possible while also writing down any memories that come to mind. The purpose of this exercise is to bring back memories of forgotten events, emotions, and relationships associated with that specific location, which you can later explore in greater detail in your memoir.
Approaching this exercise made me realize a few things. I started drawing the city center of a Dutch town where I began to study nearly ten years ago. And while it was undoubtedly exciting and I learned a lot of new things at that time in my life, I also realized a while ago that I have trouble recalling memories from that period, which I believe is because I was struggling a lot. However, as soon as I began sketching the familiar streets and business, I suddenly experienced a flood of memories associated with smells, sounds, and some of the foods I ate there for the first time. I also remembered climbing the local tower once, which was a very claustrophobic experience, but it reminded me of how much I enjoyed trying new things when I was younger, and it made me realize that traveling to new places has always been for me not necessarily about seeing the world, but about learning about myself and my limits and challenging my beliefs. And I realized I want this narrative to be an important part of my memoir. And I hope the exercise will have a similar effect on you. Of course, you can draw from memory or use Google Maps or any other resources available to you.
What kind of forgotten story, unexpected recollection, or insight did the exercise bring to you?
