The days are getting shorter as summer wanes.  Have you noticed it?

I like the new angles the sunlight displays as it moves back northward.

Each day is a new day as I open the blind in my office. The sun casts its presence across my desk in significantly different patterns, making every day magical and different.

It’s quite inspiring when you notice these subtle changes in nature.

Even in Florida, where the midday temperatures still hover near 90 degrees Fahrenheit, there’s a sense of fall in the air.  Beyond the changes in light, what was once lush and green is now fading, as though spent from summer’s rush to vitality.

If you’re feeling stale, pay attention to what nurtures you.  Every day is different even when it seems like same old, same old.

Collect a list of these seasonal changes in your journal of the daily changes that are purely nature’s changes.  Expand the lists into mini-vignettes.  Later, these recordings may serve you in a story or setting detail.

Now you go… what will you write today?  How is the fall season special to you?

Who will know your story if you don’t begin to write it now?

I’m such a fan of writing prompts.  For me, they are the juice that gets me going.  Like a morning cup of  coffee, they clear the pipes and defog the eyes.

Write for ten minutes on each of these prompts. Use a separate page for each. Put pen to page and just write. First thoughts, no censoring.  Now go…

• Who gave you your name?
• How did they choose that name for you?
• Did you have a family nickname?
• Who gave you the nickname?
• How did you feel about being called that special name?

Now, take what you have written. Reread. Write for 30 minutes on each of the above over the next few days, or weeks, and develop a short vignette.

Whenever a group of memoir writers get together, and when we talk about home, the subject always seems to turn toward stories that took place in “our rooms.”  No doubt, our earliest bedrooms made a lasting impression on us because they provided a safe haven.  Or did they?  What went on in your room?  Put pen to page and just write. First thoughts, no censoring. Now go…

• Describe your childhood bedroom. What was the view from your window?

• List one special memory about each of your brothers and sisters (or friends).

Now, take what you have written. Reread. Write for 30 minutes on each of the above over the next few days, or weeks, and develop a short vignette.