How to Use Family Photos in Writing Activities

Use family photographs as writing prompts to inspire students.

According to Roberta Allen, author of "Fast Fiction: Creating Fiction in Five Minutes," photographs are gateways into the unconscious. Even the least interesting photos can trigger the most energetic writing. Family photos inherently provide the basis for stories from past events captured in a picture. Standardized tests often include photos for essay questions; and students can practice for tests with writing exercises and family photos. Writers experiencing writer's block, feeling stuck or going through a period of creative lethargy can use family photos as inspiration. Family photos evoke a sense of place, time and memories that translate into prose.

Instructions

1. 

   Warm up with a free-writing exercise.

   Warm-up with a free-writing exercise. Instruct students to write for 10 minutes without stopping, using a memorable family photograph and the words "I remember." After the time has concluded, ask students to write for another 10 minutes using the same photo but with the words "I do not remember."

2. 

   Create a dialogue that involves conflict from a family photograph.

   Create a dramatic script using family photographs as inspiration. Direct students to choose two family members in a photograph and write a script using dialogue only. The dialogue should be an argument, which must be over the student writing the exercise.

3. 

   Explore different ways of using a color without saying the color.

   Explore metaphor and symbolism in family photos. Ask students to choose one color from a family photograph and describe the color in several ways as part of the story, without using the actual color. Students may also assign the color symbol to a family member as part of character development.

4. 

   Expressions can offer inspiration.

   Imagine the expression of a photographed family member, such as a mother or a father, changing into four different emotions. Ask students to craft four short poems, in first person, to correspond with each emotion.

5. 

   An object can tell a story about a family member.

   Write a monologue about the history of the family told from the point of view of an inanimate object in the family photo.

6. 

Tips & Warnings

• Exchange family photos with the students to enhance the writing exercises by illustrating differences in perception.

• Some students may prefer to write in privacy.

References

• The Writing Site: Descriptive Writing and Prompts
• Connect ED : Fourth-Grade Creative Writing Topics
• Free Creative Wiritng Prompts: #4:Family
• Always Write: Corbett's Photos for Writing
• Writing Forward: How to Write A Memoir with Partner

Resources

• Amazon.Com: A Picture Is Worth 1000 Words: Image-Driven Story Prompts and Exercises for Writers
• Writers Digest: Writing Life Stories
• NYTimes.com:Picture This! Building Photo Based Skills