Hello Fellow Writers,

I'm a native New Yorker, currently based in Chicago. I design and teach original writing workshops to all ages, with all levels of expertise. Some of my favorites are the creative memoir writing workshops that are fun, fascinating, as well as healing.

I am devoting this column to sharing some of my exercises so that you, too, never again have to feel paralyzed by a blank page. In my world, writer's block is non-existent.

Stop reading this now and go grab a pen and a blank sheet of paper. At the top of the page, write, I remember ... Then, start jotting down some of the things you remember. Don't worry about the chronology. You can always sort them out later, if you like. List as many as you can. If you get stuck, just repeat the phrase, I remember . . . until a memory pops into your head. You have now begun writing your life's stories.

Practice by taking one of your remembrances and expanding on it. Be sure to make it as detailed as you can, with sights, sounds, smells, and tactile sensations. A good way to do this is to close your eyes for a few minutes and visualize the memory, as if you are watching it on a movie screen. Do this until you feel as if you are there. Then, write it so that the reader will feel like they were there, as well. It will then become one of the scenes from your life.

I first did this exercise in 1998. It has since morphed into a poem entitled, “Down Memory Lane”, and appears in an anthology of Chicago writers called In Katrina's Wake . A copy of it appears below. If one of my memories triggers one of yours, feel free to borrow it.

Down Memory Lane

I remember…

…when Alan Shepherd blasted off into outer space

…the Cuban Missile Crisis

…almost drowning in a tidal wave

I remember…

… many traumatic visits to the dentist

… being in labor for five days

… my parents splitting up after thirty years

I remember …

… being a lot thinner

… a time when I didn't smoke

… winning the school spelling bee in the 6th grade

I remember…

… the night they landed on the moon

… where I was when I heard that JFK was killed

… waking up to find out that Bobby Kennedy had been shot after he won the California Primary

(excerpt)

Future columns will feature other exercises; however, I feel this is a great way for you to start. This is your life, your story, your history. You are the only person who is uniquely qualified to write it.

I will now tell you what I tell my students. I am not doing a documentary; I will not fact-check your writing. If you were the 2nd tree from the left in your kindergarten play and you would prefer to remember that you were the lead, I don't have a problem with that. . . so feel free to expand or embellish as you desire. This is your party and we are here to celebrate your life! I hope you are excited as I am.

Susan Danzig is a professional, freelance writer, teacher and actor. Her works have been published and performed. You can find her online at www.SusanDanzig.biz