Writing Memoir to Un-Silence our Silences

This prompt seems simple, but let it take you where the story needs to go. This prompt comes from a dynamic TedTalk by the writer Sakinah Hofler, “How to Use Creative Writing to Bear Witness.”

The prompt:

Part 1: Make a list of sentences, each one beginning: The time when………

Think about times when you might have heard something, seen something, witnessed something, that you knew should be remembered, even if you didn’t know why. Maybe you bore witness to something happening to you. Maybe you bore witness to something happening to someone else. You may end up getting into the description of one of these times, which is fine. But try to come up with at least three or four ideas.

Part 2: Choose one of those ‘times” and start writing about that particular time.

You might write about whether you did or didn’t respond in the moment, which is part of the story. Writing about events where we didn’t respond can offer us a chance to respond now–you are responding with reflection on events that happened. You are responding by not forgetting.