Family

What does that mean to you?

Time to have a go at some creative non-fiction for today’s writing prompt.

You can write about your own family, or someone else’s. But if you make up a family from your imagination, that is fiction, which is not what I’m asking for today.

I want you to take a true-life  family-related theme and go with that for 500 words. Rant if you like. Or wax lyrical, your call.

Creative non-fiction has undergone something of a resurgence recently.  It is an umbrella term for any kind of writing that isn’t news reporting, or fiction, poetry or playwriting. Which leaves memoir, personal articles, comment and biography – but written in a literary prose style.

Confused? Don’t be. For this exercise I’m asking you to write an essay* about your family. Include siblings, cousins, parents, offspring, grandparents, whatever. The term ‘family’ covers a lot of people…

Remember those school essays after the holidays: ‘What I did during the summer’? I can’t remember if I liked writing those or not, but there is plenty of family stuff I want to write about just now.

So join me in getting some family-related joy or angst off your chest.

Don’t you just love creative writing? It is so much cheaper (and more readily accessible) than therapy…

* Every Wednesday afternoon at 5pm (Dublin time) I post a writing prompt and suggest a way in which you can use it to generate new creative writing. I usually include suggestions for short stories, flash fiction, poetry, memoir and creative non-fiction.

Knowing 42 is the answer to Life, the Universe and Everything (as the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams explains in full), I began this in March 2020 as a Lockdown project  for my creative writing group members, creating 42 days of writing prompts and exercises. It began here.

When the original 42 prompts finished, I decided to go weekly instead. As always it is just for enjoyment, no pressure, no hassle, no worries and I will continue until I’ve had enough (or someone insists I stop).