If you noticed the Halloween candy for sale in August, you know it has been the “holiday season” for some time. But now it is really the holiday season. All of the winter spices and root vegetables, not to mention desserts, will bring back memories. Use these scents to infuse your writing with details and memory.
Like Proust’s madeleine, give yourself over to the sensory memories of food. Sit quietly, taste something (pumpkin pie? mashed sweet potatoes?) and hold the flavor in your mouth for a moment. Close your eyes and wear earplugs to focus on the taste and smell from the food. Perhaps you’ll find yourself as young child or even just one year younger.
Then, start to write as you remember a particular moment from your past. Where are you? How old are you? Who is there with you? What else are you eating? Who prepared it or where was it purchased? Or are you in a restaurant? You might even push yourself to ask, “why?” Why were you there? How did you all arrive and how did it end?
Spend at least 10 minutes writing without worrying about proper grammar or punctuation. Set a timer to make sure that you continue writing. Just let your mind wander and immerse yourself in the memory. (Remember that this is only a prompt, not a destination, so if your writing moves in a completely different direction, let that happen.) Then, when the 10 minutes is up, stop writing and reread what you wrote. Underline, circle or highlight the moments (words, phrases or even full lines) that most interest you and that you could build on in later drafts.
Food can awaken the past or open up your future, as it does for Jane Hirshfield in her poem Da Capo, which you can read here and hear her read here. She ends the poem, “You may do this, I tell you, it is permitted. / Begin again the story of your life.” Let your words, followed by actions, give you a new beginning and perhaps perspective on the past.
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Chloe Yelena Miller lives in Washington, D.C., with her husband and son. She is the author of Unrest (Finishing Line Press). She blogs about intersecting roles at Woman Mother Writer (http://womanmotherwriter.blogspot.com) and writing at Chloe Yelena Miller (http://chloeyelenamiller.blogspot.com).
