Steppingstones

Steppingstones are a journalling technique, outlined by Ira Progoff. They help us get an overview of our lives and the moments or events that stand out. They can also be used when creating a character in a fictional story. Steppingstones can change from day to day as you list them intuitively.

They are times when you paused and chose a direction which shaped what came afterwards. They are your sliding doors moments or something happened which meant your life would never be the same again.

The stones are emotionally neutral, meaning that they are simply a list of what happened. They are significant to the way your life is today, they help you gather the threads together and could provide structure for a memoir or similar life story project.

Progoff suggests that you always begin with ‘I was born’ to acknowledge ‘your physical, emotional, and spiritual birth into your body, your family, your culture, your society, your world.’ (Kathleen Adams, Journal to the Self p. 150).

Write a quick list of at least eight moments. For example:

I was born.

My sister was born.

My father left.

I moved house.

I changed school.

My best friend left.

I emigrated.

I got my dream job.

I got made redundant.

My intuition led me to the sea.

You can do this in other ways, looking at themes or emotions or through the lens of your body.

If you’d like to write a memoir but don’t know how to structure it. Write your steppingstones, then for each one, write a key scene.