Using Old Photos as a Basis for Writing

My older brother has been working for years on our genealogy, recording his findings on ancestry.com. Recently, he discovered and posted some wonderful photos of family members that I had never seen before. Many of them are of my parents when they were very young. Seeing these photos is really stirring up my imagination. I want to fill in all the blanks about what they were like, both individually and as a couple, when they were that young. The things that I do know about might eventually make their way into a memoir that I write. What I don’t know, but wonder about, may show up in a novel, inspired in part by the pictures.

I love the photo shown here of my mother holding a muskie that she caught, probably in northern Wisconsin around 1940. The story goes that one of these fish was so big that they had to shoot it to get it into the boat. I remember that Mom would say if they saw a muskie coming after the lure, they weren't sure if they should let it bite or reel the lure in fast. I can't imagine taking the fish off the hook. This story and photo give a peek at what an adventuresome woman my mother was.

Using similar old photos could be the beginning of a writing assignment for students. If favorite family photos are not available, there are many websites that have old pictures that could be used. Do a search on “historical digital collections” and you will find all kinds of possibilities. Let students choose the photos that most inspire them. Who are the people? What are their personalities? In what ways to they interact with one another? Where is the photo taken? What are the artifacts in the photo? How do they play into whatever story is created? Can a story line be imagined?