Intro: Some “Dipping Our Toes Into the Memoir Waters” Stuff
First, we should revisit Literary Elements & Story Arc (PowerPoint).
Then we should play with some poetry that pushes into memoir:
Finally, we could take a look at some of our teacher’s writings (which were really small-town newspaper columns, but some veered toward memoir-esque pieces). Take a look at any of the pieces via this link & see if they have any qualities of memoir or personal story that work for you. Maybe begin with “Mailbox” & then browse for others:
And…. then, we’re off….
- “Writing a Compelling Memoir – Eleanor Vincent (5 mins)
- 6 Word Stories (Larry Smith Ted Talk – 15 mins)
- “Everyone has a story. What’s yours?”
- “Start with six words, then share your back-story.”
- 6 Word Stories Site
- 6 Word Memoir Page
- How to Write Your Memoir in 4 Simple Steps
- How to Write a Memoir: 6 Creative Ways to Tell a Powerful Story
- Structure – Beginnings & Endings of Memoir
- How to Start a Memoir (w/examples)
- New Speaker = New Paragraph
- 300 Ways to Say “Said”
Some Samplings….
- 15 Short Memoirs to Read On Your Lunch Break
- GREAT intro on young people & creative non-fiction!!
- Storycorps Memoirs
- The Moth: The Art & Craft of Storytelling (Podcasts)
- “Me Talk Pretty One Day” (David Sedaris)
- Angela’s Ashes (Frank McCourt)
- “Above all – we were wet.”
- I Am Malala (Malala Yousafsai) -Audio
- I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (Maya Angelou)
- “…being aware of her displacement is the rust on the razor that threatens the throat.”
- Always Running: La Vida Loca: Gang Days in LA (Luis Rodriguez)
- “Swear – you got to swear you’ll never tell anyone how I cried.”
- My Nightly Terror (Sarah Silverman) – Content/Language Caution
- “…they would never guess that one of us was wearing Pampers.”
- Born a Crime (Trevor Noah)
- “My mother reached over, pulled the sliding door open… and threw me out as far as she could.”
- Dreams From My Father (Barack Obama)
- “Tell them we’re coming through the front.”
- Extraordinary, Ordinary People (Condoleezza Rice)
- “I was terrified of the other children and of Mrs. Jones, and I refused to stay.”
And Some Great Opening Lines…
- Great Opening Lines: Grab & Don’t Let Go
- 7 Great Memoir Opening Lines
- Writing a Memoir Like a Novel: A Compelling Opening
- A case for CHARACTER rather than ACTION in opening
- David Sedaris & Opening Lines
- Great First-Last Lines FICTION