1. Have you decided upon: * a life event for your memoir? * a problem or conflict to relate to the audience? * the setting in which the story takes place? * the tone of the writing (humorous, mysterious, sad,...)

2. Over the next twenty minutes, begin by giving the background information, introducing your setting, characters, and the problem you face in the story.

3.  Is your tone appropriate to the story?  Do you, as the narrator, establish a voice for the piece?  Are your descriptions strong? Necessary?

4.  Do my descriptions have enough detail to transport the reader? Remember, even if we set a story in McDonald's, we need to bring it to life, make it enjoyable.  Did I bring my setting to life using all of the senses--sight, sound, taste, feel, and smell?  Do my feelings or my other character's feelings about the setting reach the reader?  Can a setting be strengthened by describing what it is not?

5.  Do you have at least two or three complications in the rising action of the story?  Have you planned how the conflict is going to be resolved?  Is it universal enough so that the readers will find it interesting?  Do you grow and change in order to overcome the conflict? Do you decide to adapt to a conflict, struggle to live with it rather than beat it?