Carefully taught
One of my publishers had all of their novelists read Janet Burroway's Writing Fiction
.
One writing exercise from the book that I liked was this one:
List five specific things your family members or best friend taught you to do (for example, to drive a stick shift, to sneak into R-rated movies, build a fire in the rain).
Then list five specific things they never taught you to do (jump from a speeding Jeep, lock my mother’s boss in his office, write Valentines.)
Do one or two lessons suggest a larger story or evoke a vivid picture? Can any lessons be combined?

One writing exercise from the book that I liked was this one:
List five specific things your family members or best friend taught you to do (for example, to drive a stick shift, to sneak into R-rated movies, build a fire in the rain).
Then list five specific things they never taught you to do (jump from a speeding Jeep, lock my mother’s boss in his office, write Valentines.)
Do one or two lessons suggest a larger story or evoke a vivid picture? Can any lessons be combined?