Episode Title: What's On Your Bedside Table? Using Objects to Reveal Character and Truth in Memoir
Episode Description: In this candid and insightful episode, acclaimed memoirist Laura Davis shares a deeply personal meditation on aging while demonstrating one of the most powerful tools in a writer's toolkit: using objects to reveal character. Laura explores how the items on her bedside table—from CPAP machines to vaginal suppositories—tell the story of a changing body and a life fully lived.
She then shows writers how to harness the power of objects to create vivid, revealing memoir scenes that resonate with readers. This episode offers both vulnerable personal storytelling and practical craft instruction for memoirists at any stage.
What Laura Covers in This Episode:
How the objects on her bedside table have changed dramatically from her twenties to her late sixties
The honest reality of aging bodies and the daily care they require
Why writing about "embarrassing" objects can be liberating and create connection with readers
How objects function as character reveals in film, television, and literature
Practical techniques for integrating objects into memoir to demonstrate relationship dynamics and character development
A specific example from her award-winning memoir The Burning Light of Two Stars using a deck of cards to chart her mother's dementia
A powerful writing prompt students can use immediately: cataloging their own bedside table items
Episode Highlights:
From Sex Toys to CPAP Machines: Laura opens with a striking contrast between her bedside table at 22 and at 69, demonstrating how honest object-based writing immediately engages readers and establishes voice.
The Vocabulary of Aging: Laura shares her visceral reaction to the medical term "atrophied vagina" and her journey through various treatments, modeling how writers can tackle difficult subjects with both humor and honesty.
The Insurance Company Plot Twist: When Medicare refused to cover her $500 E-string, Laura's health narrative intersected with economics—showing how objects reveal larger systemic issues in our lives.
Liberation Through Truth-Telling: Laura describes how her writing students responded to the bedside table prompt, discovering that sharing "embarrassing" items created unexpected community and connection.
Objects as Film Language: Laura teaches writers to watch for how directors use objects to reveal character, offering a masterclass in visual storytelling that translates directly to the page.
The Deck of Cards: Laura shares how she used one object—a deck of playing cards—throughout her memoir to show both connection and loss across 50+ years with her mother.
The Assignment for Listeners: Laura issues a direct writing challenge to catalog bedside table objects, explaining why this specific prompt generates such rich, revealing material.
Objects Change, Characters Change: Laura demonstrates how tracking a character's relationship to an object over time creates a powerful through-line in longer memoir narratives.
About Host Laura Davis:
Laura Davis is an acclaimed author and writing teacher with over 35 years of experience guiding memoirists and personal narrative writers. Her memoir The Burning Light of Two Stars won the 2021 BookLife Prize and has been celebrated for its unflinching honesty and masterful craft. Laura is known for her ability to create safe, generative spaces where writers can explore difficult material with courage and skill.
She teaches regular writing classes, leads international writing retreats, and publishes The Writer's Journey, a reader-supported publication offering craft essays, writing prompts, and inspiration for memoirists. Her teaching emphasizes the power of specific details, honest storytelling, and the courage to write what's true.
Resources Laura Mentions:
Book: The Burning Light of Two Stars by Laura Davis (BookLife Prize Winner 2021)
Publication: The Writer's Journey with Laura Davis on Substack (https://laurasaridavis.substack.com/)
Website: Laura Davis's official site for classes, workshops, and retreats (https://lauradavis.net/)
Writing Prompt: The Bedside Table Exercise—cataloging objects that reveal your current life stage and priorities
Key Takeaways from This Episode:
Use objects as character shorthand: The items people surround themselves with—especially intimate spaces like bedside tables—instantly reveal priorities, struggles, age, health, relationships, and values without requiring exposition.
Embrace "embarrassing" details: Writing honestly about medications, bodily changes, and health challenges creates unexpected connection with readers who recognize their own experiences and feel less alone.
Track objects across time: Following one meaningful object throughout a longer narrative (like Laura's deck of cards) provides structure and demonstrates character change more powerfully than direct statement.
Study objects in visual media: Train your writer's eye by noticing how films and television shows use objects to reveal character, then apply those same techniques to your memoir scenes.
Specific trumps general: Laura's exact brands (Airsense 11 CPAP, Calms Forte, Ativan with gold tape) create vivid reality. In memoir, precise details always outperform vague descriptions.
Episode Call-to-Action:
Your Writing Assignment: Grab a notebook and catalog what's actually on your bedside table. Don't curate or judge—just list everything honestly. Write one paragraph about each, explaining how it got there and what it reveals about your life right now. Notice what surprises you. This is memoir gold.
Want more writing prompts, craft essays, and community? Subscribe to The Writer's Journey with Laura Davis at https://laurasaridavis.substack.com/ for regular inspiration delivered to your inbox.
Connect with Laura Davis:
Subscribe to The Writer's Journey: https://laurasaridavis.substack.com/ (free and paid options available)
Explore Laura's Classes & Retreats: https://lauradavis.net/
Engage with the Community: Leave a comment on this episode's post, click the heart to support the work, and share with fellow writers
International Writing Retreats: Check Laura's website for upcoming retreat opportunities where you can study craft in inspiring locations
The Writer's Journey with Laura Davis is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support her work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. You'll receive regular posts like these, as well as beautifully curated poems and nature photos, essays on life and the craft of writing, and more.
You can subscribe here: https://laurasaridavis.substack.com/ Learn about Laura's writing classes, books, workshops, and international retreats at: https://lauradavis.net/
