A poem from a palindromic day: written backwards, read forwards
Echo is Autumn
Autumn leaves fall
Fall I did heavily
Broken I have become
22.7.22
Updated: May 20, 2022
So, today I've been experimenting with echo verse.
Still very much thinking about family history and how our ancestors' past shapes our future.
i not forgotten
ii how we remember
iii those who passed before
iv who gave up their tomorrows
v so we could have today
vi how do we commemorate
vii how they bravely soldiered on
viii inhabit
Families. Love them, hate them (hopefully not!). Either way, they can be inspiration or distraction for story making, which equates to the same thing really.
Present company, whether they bring us joy or angst, can be supportive. Cups of tea and slices of cake to keep us going, looking after the kids, or cat-sitting so we can take some time out to actually put words on the page.
The ones yet to be born; our future family are, come to think of it, the ones we are writing for. We owe them everything, so spare them nothing – bare all!
Perhaps though, the most interesting family are the ones who are no longer with us: our past participles. We are all we have learnt from them, all they have given us. They are gone and not forgotten.
Therefore, delving into our family history can indeed be a great story starter. Everyone has their own ready-made cast of characters to research, explore the places they lived and define their professions. This, I learnt, while writing my own story.
For years I’ve researched and traced my family tree to the bewilderment of some living relatives. Why do you want to know about the past? Why do you want to visit their old haunts? Why do we have to spend every Saturday afternoon scraping moss off headstones to read indecipherable names? Why, why, why? Because it’s interesting. Because I want to know who I am and where I came from. And, ironically it seems, only the dead can tell me.
Perhaps not everyone wants to know and that, I accept. For curious minds however, and future selves who might not know yet that they might want to know in the future (if you see what I mean), we owe it to them to have the choice.
So, family history keepers write down what you know about Great Uncle Bulgaria, or cousin Jane twice removed. Think about their lives, their interests, their jobs and what was happening in their world. Create a timeline, draw a map, build a picture of their environment and step into their shoes.
Comfortable? Well, accept that someone else’s brogues might not be a perfect fit because it’s only a metaphor and look with your own eyes – just look a little longer and a little deeper and maybe your ancestors will give you a story starter!
If delving into the past doesn’t unstick your words (it’s not for everyone), return to the present and apply the same thoughts to your life, your special interests, or best subjects at school and write what you know.
For example:
· Some writers focus on historical fiction
· Some writers have favourite settings they return to
· Some writers prefer science fiction and fantasy
· Then there are the adventure writers
· While others have skills in poetic language and a real way with words
to bring their stories to life, or use dialogue as the key to moving the action forward
However you do it, the most important thing to know, is that if you want to write a story, you have to start!
