"Home sweet home" is that oft said wistful mantra that can take us back to good old days and love of family. Of course this is not the case for everyone. For some the house they lived in was more like hell than a home. Whatever the story to be told, there is usually some kind of semblance of home in the story setting. In some cases home is the story.
The smells, sounds, and emotions that we relate to our different home experiences can evoke many memories for ourselves and our readers. No matter what memoir story is being told it is important to get the home setting right--the rooms, the yard, the exterior, and the street where it sat or even still sits. A rich palette of word descriptions should be used to paint a clear picture for memoir readers.
If you are going to write the story that puts the reader inside your skin, make sure they feel at home as well.
When you read a life story do you like to know the details of where the person you are reading about lived? What are some memories of home that you feel are important? Is the house where you spent your childhood still accessible to you?
Yes I do like to read about the person's setting and background. My mom still lives in my childhood home, which was bought in 1952. I am supposed to take it over when she dies and am not terribly thrilled with the idea. I don't like how the house is set up, flow wise. It's also a very old house, built in 1889, with a lot of maintenance. Nice yard and all. The house looks bigger on the outside than when you get inside. I hate the upstairs. Not sure how long I'll live there b/f selling it.
ReplyDeleteWill you have to live there at all? I'd like to have an old house, but my wife wouldn't. And maybe once I was in it I wouldn't either.
DeleteLee
So many stories are about place. My childhood was rich in place. I enjoy thinking back on creeks and roads, buildings and nature. Awesome stuff.
ReplyDeleteI think place is as important as people in a life story. Place helps make us who we are.
DeleteLee
Good topic, home. Home has been top of mind for me lately because I've just spent a week visiting family and got to see my brother and sister-in-law who I haven't seen in four years. I have such fond memories of my home and hometown but after hearing the news of all the changes that have taken place, I heard myself lament the truth that one can never can go back home because it's never the same. Sad but true. On a bright note, my childhood home is still available to me: my parents sold the home to my brother who years later sold it to a family friend so I'd be welcome to go in any time. That's a blessing to me.
ReplyDeleteMichele at Angels Bark
It's nice to visit sometimes but often we wouldn't want to live there again.
DeleteLee
In many cases, home is where the heart is so yes, I like knowing where my protagonist is from.
ReplyDeleteI like background of characters in stories though I guess sometimes a mystery is needed as well.
DeleteLee
ReplyDeleteMy favorite books have detailed descriptions of the progagonist's home or place where they reside. It is a part of character development that I can't seem to do without!
I agree--sometimes the place is almost like a character of itself.
DeleteLee
I always thought that if I ever write a memoir it will have to have several home descriptions included... :D
ReplyDelete@TarkabarkaHolgy from
Multicolored Diary - Epics from A to Z
MopDog - 26 Ways to Die in Medieval Hungary
You should have home descriptions in a memoir. It helps put the reader in the mind and setting of the one being written about.
DeleteLee
Every home has its own smell, doesn't it? The smell of my parent's house changed as they aged, from family food and flowers to a scent I associate with elderly people. Not good, not bad, just is.
ReplyDeleteKathy, that is so true. If given home scents only I could probably identify where many of them came from. Nursing homes also have certain scents if were thinking about the elderly.
DeleteLee
Big questions, Lee. My farm home was demolished; it was unsafe after about 150 yrs. The smell of bacon and coffee remind me of breakfast in that home. I love to read biographies of writers whose work I have enjoyed.
ReplyDeleteH is for home, yes, it is.
Ah yes, bacon and coffee. Takes me back to my grandmother's house in the mornings one summer when I spent a week there.
DeleteLee