Experience makes up our memories, our personalities, our reactions, and our writing. Things that thrill, scare, or excite us often make a lasting impression in our psyche and we don’t even realize they’re there until they come out in our writing.

What experiences have you had? Here are a few I’ve written about.

Camping

Evacuation from Fire

Writing Retreat

and Some of my inspirations.

I’m the 7th of 8 kids (youngest girl) so growing up had its challenges. There was laughter, singing, and strong bonds. You were never alone and family Christmas was a true event where mashed potatoes were never hot by the time they got to you and you didn’t care.

There were also times when there was no milk in the fridge, no tp, or a weeks worth of dinner consisted of boiled macaroni with stewed tomatoes. Omg, to this day I can’t stomach stewed tomatoes–ugh the thought makes wanna gag.

But then there’s also the fact that mom made homemade bread every couple of days. The sweet warm aroma of baked bread would waft through the neighborhood and we’d run home. Mom always made a ‘baby’ loaf which we were allowed to eat fresh out of the oven. We’d take it out side and tear pieces from it to stuff into our mouths. I can still taste it.

That same bread though was also a source of embarrassment in school lunches. I wanted Wonder Bread. Everyone else had the gummy gooey store-bought bread and I had thick slabs of homemade bread that mom couldn’t cut straight.

Sigh…what I’d give now for a fresh loaf of mom’s bread.

For the writer in you, the way you grew up and interacted with your parents, siblings, neighbors, teachers, pets…wow, there’s so many things and memories to pull from.

Do you ever wonder if your first grade teacher remembers you? I do. Looking back I now see how young she must’ve been–maybe her early 20’s. I was contacted by my grade two teacher a few years back. She hadn’t changed at all and remembered each and every student.

I find it interesting that while I can go through and name every kid in the class photo, I’m always shocked that someone would remember my name. I guess that goes to the fact that I was so quiet and shy. I didn’t ever think anyone noticed me. Am I the only one like that? Anyone else?

Our experiences will eventually bleed into our stories and characters. Deep seeded resentments, traumas, actions, and connections are never buried far enough down for the muse not to locate.

So, stay tuned as those things boil up into my novels and stories.

Now let’s look at something a little lighter.

Look at the list of 25 from HobbyLark and give yourself one point for things you’ve NOT done.

1. Never have I ever watched the Ghostbusters remake.
2. Never have I ever wanted to be one of the Kardashians.
3. Never have I ever dressed as the opposite sex.
4. Never have I ever watched Spongebob Squarepants.
5. Never have I ever cried during a Pixar movie. (Darn you, Bing Bong!)
6. Never have I ever had a crush, or man crush, on Ron Swanson.
7. Never have I ever “cleaned up” by piling everything into a closet.
8. Never have I ever sung karaoke.
9. Never have I ever watched the “Gangnam Style” music video.
10. Never have I ever had a crush on someone from Full House.
11. Never have I ever watched an episode of Gilmore Girls.
12. Never have I ever pretended to know a stranger.
13. Never have I ever worn sleepwear and pretended it was clothing.
14. Never have I ever said “excuse me” when there was no one around.
15. Never have I ever scared myself in a mirror.
16. Never have I ever missed a high five.
17. Never have I ever heard someone else doing it.
18. Never have I ever sang in the shower.
19. Never have I ever blamed farts on an animal.
20. Never have I ever secretly wished I were a wizard at Hogwarts.
21. Never have I ever slept in regular clothing.
22. Never have I ever had a nightmare about zombies chasing me.
23. Never have I ever pretended to laugh at a joke I didn’t get.
24. Never have I ever been scared of clowns.
25. Never have I ever thought a cartoon character was hot.

My answer is seven. Never wanted to be a Kardashian/wth is Ron Swanson?/didn’t like Full House guys/never saw Gilmore Girls/my reflection doesn’t scare me/ clowns meh/ and um…you know cartoon characters aren’t real, right? So that leaves me 18 experiences that I could consider, enhance, and chronicle in my next story. Hmmm….

What is your score? I hope you’re considering some of those experiences.

Hope you’re have a great day. Keep writing and sharing those experiences.

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