At the hill’s foot Frodo found Aragorn, standing still and silent as a tree; but in his hand was a small golden bloom of elanor, and a light was in his eyes. He was wrapped in some fair memory, and as Frodo looked at him he knew that he beheld things as they had been in this same place. For the grim years were removed from the face of Aragorn, and he seemed clothed in white, a young lord fall and fair; and he spoke words in the Elvish tongue to one whom Frodo could not see. “Arwen vanimelda, namarie!” he said, and then he drew a breath, and returning out of his thought he looked at Frodo and smiled. — J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring
Certain places bring our memories flooding back. Think about which locations have done that for you. Maybe it’s a cattle gate looking out over vast, undulating hills that called up the early days of a short-lived romance. Maybe it’s a lightning struck tree that brings back a terrifying trip through the forest during a sudden, summer storm. Maybe it’s catching a glimpse of the 14th hole of Augusta National and you’re right there again with your normally curmudgeonly great uncle who suddenly smiled for hours on end, laughed at your jokes, and treated you to a soda and hotdog.
Pick one of your secondary characters and write that spot for them. What is lurking in their past that would make them stop, close their eyes, and relive a moment from the distant past?
How would a moment remembered provide key information for the plot now? Does the character remember an important detail they had forgotten? Does the memory of a family member give them the strength to tackle a current problem?