Key Terms for Memoir or Personal Narrative Writing

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Anecdotes

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A short, interesting story or event told to demonstrate a point or amuse the audience.

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Bias

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The inclusion or exclusion of certain events and facts, decisions about word choice, and consistency of tone to convey a particular feeling or attitude. Bias comes from a specific stance or worldview and can limit a text if left unexamined.

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Characters

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Fictional people (or other beings) created in a work of literature. The narrator of a memoir or personal narrative is the nonfiction equivalent of the main character.

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Climax

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The point of highest level of interest and emotional response in a narrative.

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Conclusion

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In narrative writing, the resolution. It is the point at which the narrator has reached a decision.

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Conflict

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The major challenge that the main character faces.

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Doubling

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A mirroring of events, objects, characters, or concepts in a memoir.

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Exposition

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The beginning section of a narrative that introduces the characters, setting, and plot.

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Falling action

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The section of the plot after the climax in which tension from the main conflict is decreased and the narrative moves toward the conclusion, or resolution.

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Flashback

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A scene that interrupts the chronological order of the main narrative to return to a scene from an earlier time.