1. 8.12 Seeing Again, with New Lenses

2. CONNECTION
You’ve written one memoir. Over the next several days you will have a chance to write a new memoir in a new structure.
Maybe your last one was more narrative so this one will be more essay?
To grow ideas, you will need to reread your earlier writing and ask “What is my theory about myself?”

3. TEACHING POINT
Today I want to teach you that you can study yourself in the stories you tell. You can look back at your entries to come up with bigger theories about who you are as a person.

4. TEACHING
Some of the thought prompts you use to develop theories about characters in books can be used to develop theories about you!
THOUGHT PROMPTS TO HELP US BETTER UNDERSTAND CHARACTERS
THOUGHT PROMPTS TO HELP US BETTER UNDERSTAND OURSELVES
Some people think (this character) is…but I think…
Some people think I’m…But really I’m…
Early on, (the character has this problem). Later, (the character changes).
Early on, (I had this problem). Later, (I changed).
My ideas about this character are complicated. On the one hand, I think…On the other hand, I think…
My ideas about myself are complicated. On the one hand, I think… On the other hand, I think…
This character’s experiences/relationships/struggles can teach us…
Experiences/relationships/struggles can teach us…
At first I thought…But now I realize…
When_______first happened to me, I thought it was about…But now I realize it was really about…

5. TEACHING THOUGHT PROMPTS TO HELP US BETTER UNDERSTAND CHARACTERS
THOUGHT PROMPTS TO HELP US BETTER UNDERSTAND OURSELVES
Some people think (this character) is…but I think…
Some people think I’m…But really I’m…
Early on, (the character has this problem). Later, (the character changes).
Early on, (I had this problem). Later, (I changed).
My ideas about this character are complicated. On the one hand, I think…On the other hand, I think…
My ideas about myself are complicated. On the one hand, I think… On the other hand, I think…
This character’s experiences/relationships/struggles can teach us…
Experiences/relationships/struggles can teach us…
At first I thought…But now I realize…
When_______first happened to me, I thought it was about…But now I realize it was really about…
Some people think I’ve always been confident, but really I was insecure as a kid.
Some people think getting a part in the play is all about achievement, but it’s really about socializing with a new group of kids.
My ideas about myself are complicated. On the one hand, I’m a person who has no problem performing in front of a big audience. On the other hand, I worry about the judgement of my peers.

6. ACTIVE ENGAGEMENT
What theories can you grow about yourself?

7. LINK
By the end of today, you need to have an idea for your second memoir. This memoir should be structured differently than your first.

8. MIDWORKSHOP
Another way to develop theories about yourself is to look for images that stand for something important to you.
Look for pictures, objects, scenes, or places that capture something important.
Sandra Cisneros found Russian stacking dolls as one of her images. One of my heart-opening images is the fake bear rug that was in my brother’s room. That rug was our living flying carpet! We pretended it was a flying bear named Chariot!
Think of an image that says something about who you are, what your family is like, what you care about—and write about it!

9. WAYS TO STRUCTURE A MEMOIR
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Make a plan for how you will hit the ground running tomorrow.
WAYS TO STRUCTURE A MEMOIR
Write a list-like structure, like beads on a string. The beads can be Small Moment stories that are linked (example: times when a writer was shy, or scenes from my childhood alongside the creek). Each memory can be as short as a sentence or as long as a page or two.
A hybrid text that is a mixture of idea-based writing and a story or vignette.
An essay in which the writer makes a claim and supports it with reasons.