1. Memoir Part 2 Chapter 4

2. Memoirs are true personal stories that inspire others to reflect on or understand interesting questions or social issues.
They provide new perspectives and insights that are fresh and meaningful.

3. Explore an reflect on a central theme or question
Deeper significance of the recounted events
Not just a story about your past
What is the significance of this particular event in your life?

4. Finding Your Topic Breaking my leg while… Winning the…
Failing my _____ class.
My trip to…
Death of _________.
Leaving home for the first time.
Meeting ________.
Not making the _______ team.
Other prompts can be found on page 40.

5. Your Goal… Is to uncover the meaning of your past.
Begin with an interesting event or series of events from your life that you may want to explore.

6. Brainstorm Make a map of the scene Storyboard the event
Record your story as a podcast or video
Do some role playing
Research

7. Tell the story (beginning to end).
Process
Tell the story (beginning to end).

8. Process
Add detail.
Describe the people involved
The scenes
Dialogue

9. Process
Describe the complication (problem you or someone else needed to solve).
The event
The complication
The immediate reaction

10. Conclusion Shows what you learned and extends that to your reader.
DO NOT WRITE
“and the moral of the story is…”
“they lived happily ever after.”

11. Overview Engaging title Introduction with a “lead” Complication Plot
Intimacy between the narrator and the reader
Rich and vivid details
Central theme or question
A new understanding or revelation

12. Conclusion: what the writer learned
Introduction: Sets the scene
Description of a complication
Evaluation of the complication
Resolution of the complication
Conclusion: what the writer learned