January 01st, 2019

Reflecting on 2018 In Vignettes

Directions: Free-write on each of the following topics for five minutes (set a timer), without trying to direct or control where it goes. Don't overthink it, just write whatever comes to mind on the following topics while trying to remember as deeply as possible. Use as many sensory, specific, and concrete details as possible. Don't worry about connecting these vignettes into a larger work - that often happens naturally, or can be worked on later.

1) A person you met within the past year

2) A person you've known for years, who played a vital role in your life this past year.

3) A joyful moment from the past year.

4) A highly-charged, emotional moment from the past year.

5) A striking, visual, strange, or mysterious moment from the past year.

6) A moment that gave rise to a small (or large) epiphany.

7) A physical place you saw, visited, or returned to that felt significant to you.

8) Something you gave away, shed, or abandoned.

9) Something you gained, acquired, grew into, or received.

10) A list of all the things you are grateful for from the past year.

Discussion: What insights and emotions come to you about the past year after completing this exercise? Post a few sentences from one of your responses below if you feel like sharing.

JOY BAGLIO is a Northampton-based writer, editor, and educator. She's the Founder/Director of Pioneer Valley Writers' Workshop and Associate Fiction Editor at the literary magazine West Branch. She holds an MFA in fiction from The New School, and her short stories have appeared recently in Tin House, The Iowa Review, TriQuarterly, New Ohio Review, PANK, SmokeLong Quarterly, and elsewhere. She's the recipient of grants and scholarships from Bread Loaf, The Elizabeth George Foundation, and The Speculative Literature Foundation. Currently, she's working on her first novel and a collection of short stories. Find her online at www.joybaglio.com

Upcoming Workshops with Joy Baglio:
• The Path to Publishing Your Fiction (Saturday, April 7 in Williamsburg MA).
• Creating Tiny Universes: Flash Fiction Intensive (June 1 & June 8, in Wililamsburg MA)

3 Comments

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Sarah Hogan

1/19/2019 07:24:01 am

This is a wonderful exercise. It occurs to me that my past year was complete almost in the way a story is, full of all the nuanced and varied elements of the best stories. I'm also struck by the variation of my lived experiences, the people I care about, the moments both small and large. It was quite a nice way to reflect in a focused, simple manner. Thank you.

Erica S.

1/31/2019 10:42:14 am

Very interesting to see the whole year through the lens of these ten questions. What I'm left with after reflecting is a sense of how much of the year I've already forgotten, already feel blurry. But I guess that's why reflecting and journaling helps so much. It really led me back to certain moments I may not have reflected on any time soon.

Pennsylvania BBW link

10/29/2022 02:33:35 am

I enjoyed reaading this

Learning to See