QuickWrite of the Day #29: Write About an Artefact

"Writing can be used as a vehicle to express ourselves as we negotiate the journey through our lives” (Gallagher, 2011: p. 24)

Today’s QuickWrite of the Day:

The history of our lives can be found in the objects and items we hold onto - every object has a story, however long or short.

With this in mind, write about an artefact or cherished item – e.g. tickets, figurines, birthday cards, photos, medals, jewellery, a childhood toy, letters, a musical instrument, a piece of sporting equipment, etc.

You can:

•Write about the ‘back story’ of the artefact

•Write about why the artefact is important and what value, emotion or idea it represents in your life

•Write about a scene taking place from the artefact’s perspective (eg: ‘If the football under my bed could talk…’)

For inspiration, check out the example below:

“For as long as I can remember, my grandmother loved to wear headscarfs tied around her head. Being a Greek migrant, these scarves reminded her of her home, far away— that habit of tying her skirts together and sweeping her hair off her face, preparing for back-breaking work in the fields of Northern Greece. Although I called her Yia Yia (the Greek word for grandmother) this habit of hers also earned her the nickname babushka – a word with two meanings, referring to an elderly Russian or Polish woman or a headscarf folded and tied under the chin. That’s why when I saw these babushka dolls in a marketplace in Poland, I felt compelled to buy them. For one, they reminded me of Yia Yia and her relentless drive to toil outside –a connection to the rhythms of a world she left behind. Also, these smaller babushkas represent my mother, my sister and I, our journey of family life and the unfolding of our lives here in Australia. I can only hope we have inherited an ounce of Yia’s Yia’s strength and resolve (and stubbornness!). ”

*Adapted from Kelly Gallagher’s Write Like This.