I remembered the ground...

Sometimes a memory takes an unexpected turn. Literally.

I had gone skiing once when I was eight. I remembered the ground hitting me again and again.

Teen Angst? Naaah... (2000)

Here, there’s no slow dissolve to the past or pulling into focus. The framing gives you immediate context.

Vizzini quickly shows us that his memory of skiing is not about fun times or beautiful scenery, which is what you may expect from the framing. It’s about pain. He flips the expectations, like a comedian tells a joke.

Here are some examples which follow the same pattern.

I went to McDonalds for a friend’s birthday once when I was four. I remember telling my parents never to take me back there again.

Dad let me drive my first rig when my feet could reach the pedals. I remember driving over Mum’s prized vege patch and crashing into a power pole before he could reach over to the brakes.

Write about a memory that uses ‘I remember’. Set it up to sound positive, but flip it with a negative outcome.

Memoir Basics 2: Using memory to tell a story

I remembered the ground...