Join me online and make time to write this Saturday!
Plus some cool memory facts and a not-too-scary Halloween movie rec
I have written professionally for thirty-seven years. And yet I, like everyone, need nudges, deadlines, and all kinds of mental stratagems to get myself writing, at times.
If you’re falling into the election news spiral and finding it hard to concentrate or do anything creative, might I suggest you join me and a small group of friendly writers for two Saturdays in a row, for my online Memory as Muse class? (Six hours, register until tomorrow at 49Writers; Sat Nov 2 and Nov 9, 12:00-3:00 Alaska Time, 1:00-4:00 Pacific.) This will be a prompt-intensive class, meaning that you will be given time on the spot to write and you will end the day with several starter pieces to expand in the days that follow.
Just for fun, here’s a short quiz to test your knowledge on a few memory concepts we’ll review in brief before we launch into writing and discussing. Answers at the bottom of the post!
1. Young people remember better than older people
True or False
2. A madeleine moment is:
a) taking time to enjoy a shell-shaped cookie sold at Starbucks
b) involuntary, spontaneous remembering of a past episode, often triggered by the senses
c) a concept popularized by Proust in Remembrance of Times Past
d) all of the above
3. The best way to use songs to trigger forgotten memories is:
a) look up a playlist of popular songs from long ago, find a familiar song that remains a favorite, then listen to it
b) look up a playlist of popular songs from long ago, find a song that you used to listen to, briefly, but forgot about for years, then listen to it
c) hum to yourself as you try to remember a childhood episode
Scroll all the way down for the answers or stick with me here for another moment…
Not-too-scary Halloween movie recommendation
I love Agatha Christie the person, but I don’t love all of her books or movies made from her books, which often feel formulaic to me—a bit too much like the game and movie “Clue.” I was surprised, then, to really enjoy Kenneth Branagh’s “A Haunting in Venice,” featuring Branagh as Hercule Poirot, released last month. It’s moody and dark, gorgeously shot (Venice at night!), with a strong ensemble cast. Minor characters aren’t just bodies waiting to be stabbed or poisoned; instead, they have interesting and tragic backstories. (Memories of WWII loom large.)
I kept finding myself surprised by the writing, because it ran deeper than much of Dame Agatha’s work. Lo and behold, Branagh and team took a story she originally set in England called Halowe’en Party and changed nearly everything about it, including most of the plot, as well as the essential characterization of Poirot, making him much more interesting, in my opinion.
As someone who was written here and there about Agatha’s surprising, inspiring, and productive life, and as someone who loves to see book-to-film adaptations that take risks, I found it fascinating. Opinions vary, of course. Let me know if you watch it!
Memory Quiz Answers
False, though it’s understandable that you would choose True. While recall does generally decline with age, scientists are beginning to view memory as operating not just “better” vs. “worse” but rather "differently” as one ages. Brain activity in older adults’ isn’t necessarily quieter, and older adults notice and remember some things that younger people don’t, focusing more on semantic over episodic information. (Example: what it’s like to go a grocery store in general, versus one specific memory of a grocery store trip.) This reliance on schema or “gist” can lead to false memories and sacrifice granular detail. But it can aid big-picture thinking and “meaning making,” which is one of the aims of memoir.
All of the above!
B! Though A is pretty fun and useful, too.
Songs are great memory triggers for most people. But here’s an additional cool thing. If you listen to a song you’ve listened to regularly, you will have pulled up, revisited, and reshaped associated memories many times. (Think: ice cream that has melted and refrozen.) If you can locate a song that correlates to an important time in your past—one you haven’t listened to since that time—you may find yourself remembering involuntary “hidden” memories that are less corrupted by multiple retrievals. And those memories may lead you down a pathway to yet other less-retrieved memories from that time period. Ooooooooh.
These aren’t the only tricks we’ll try. Register for Memory as Muse here by tomorrow (Friday). Class begins Saturday!
Who am I?
I am the author of six novels including my latest, The Deepest Lake. I’m also a developmental editor and book coach who works with select clients, helping writers finish, revise, and sell their memoirs and novels. Contact me for more info at aromanolax@gmail.com.