Timeline Exercise
Take a topic/event in your life that seems too big to write about. It might be too big because it spans the course of months or years, something like a friendship, a broken relationship, a battle with cancer, depression, or a faith journey. It might feel too big because it is a tragic event that's too hard to write about, something like a sudden death or disappointment. It could be a precious memory you just want to remember like a vacation or a wedding.
Now, draw a line through your paper to prepare a timeline. Start walking through this too big topic from the beginning, from your earliest memories and jot down everything—every tiny detail, conversation, and scene that comes to you. I encourage writers to have at least 20, if not upward of 50 moments, on this timeline.
Now pick one, two, or three of those moments that hit you and write that small moment. Which moments in the midst of that too-big memory are bursting off the page?
I've done this to help me write stories about my dad's stroke, my own faith journey, and the births of my children.
Exhale Member Joy Becker is a part-time literacy coach and spends most of her time equipping teachers to teach students how to write. She has used this creative exercise with teachers and students on multiple occasions, and also used it with a group of Exhale women when they met up for their own mini-retreat in Texas in 2019.