Storing a Memory in your Mind
Evoke
1: to call forth or up: such as
a: to bring to mind or recollection; this place evokes memories
2: to re-create imaginatively
This is a provoking word, designed to be a gentle reminder of something you already know. Writers are taught to Show, don’t Tell. Show the story, don’t just relate a string of events. And in the showing, evoke an emotional response.
We all have memories stored in our brains. They surface in response to sights, smells, songs, colors, seasons or people we meet. Many things can bring a memory to the surface of our minds.
Take the picture above. Catching a whiff of woodsmoke, the feel of cold morning air just before the sun rises, watching your breath make a cloud right in front of you, hearing a splash in the river … do any of those phrases bring forth a memory of your last camping trip? If so, that memory was evoked. Not invoked, which would require that I demand a memory from your mind … right now! No, the memory was brought forward gently with the mention of a few words.
In order to truly enjoy the story we’re reading, we have to be able to identify with the characters and what they’re going through. One way we do this is through the memories and emotions that come to mind as we’re reading. It makes the story more personal. It puts us inside the book world, where we have an adventure. It’s the difference between reading an article in a newspaper and freely roaming a world inside a book. Which would you rather do? What’s your favorite book and why?
