When we lose someone we love, whether it be human or animal, our grief can be quite profound. We go through a series of emotions, from shock to grief to acceptance. Unfortunately we are still deep in the first two when we are asked to eulogize the individual.
What memories do you share? Do you speak about the time Spot stole the neighbor’s underwear from her clothesline or do you bemoan all the walks you didn’t have the time to take?
Should you begin with a funny incident from a person’s life to cheer things up a bit or stick to the most solemn moments that you recall?
Imagine that your character has lost someone that he loves. Perhaps he’s not comfortable with public speaking, but because he knew the individual well, he is the most qualified to deliver the eulogy.
Begin by deciding who died. If it’s a person, what is the relationship between the two? How close were they? What things did they do together?
If it’s an animal, when did the critter come into the character’s life? In what way did the animal impact the character? What kinds of things did they do together?
Your task is to write the story of death and eulogy. Include both description and dialogue. Make sure your readers feel the emotions of the character. And that you’ve set the scene with relevant sensory details.
Have fun with this one.
Have Fun with This One 