Basics of Memoir Writing

The events of a story

• setting

• plot

• character

• theme

• conflict

The time and place of a story

• setting

• plot

• character

• theme

• conflict

The persons of a story

• setting

• plot

• character

• theme

• conflict

The overarching lesson of a story

• setting

• plot

• character

• theme

• conflict

The internal and external challenges and struggles characters encounter in a story

• setting

• plot

• character

• theme

• conflict

What is a Memoir?

• an account of a person's life written by that person.

• a story of a life experience that taught you something about yourself

• a personal essay that explores an event that a person has experienced. It’s different from a personal narrative in that the writer usually reflects on the event and what it means.

• the process or practice of thinking or telling about past experiences

What is symbolism?

• a comparison between two things, typically for the purpose of explanation or clarification.

• a short story, typically with animals as characters, conveying a moral.

• a figure of speech in which a word or phrase is applied to an object or action to which it is not literally applicable.

• the practice or art of using an object or a word to represent an abstract idea.

What is the Narrator's voice?

• the perspective the story is told from.

• the atmosphere that the story is trying to create

• the theme of the story

• the mood of the story

Direct Characterization is

• When an author shows the reader character traits using events that require the reader to make inferences.

• When an author uses a narrator or a character to state character traits of a character

• a figure of speech in which a word or phrase is applied to an object or action to which it is not literally applicable.

• the process or practice of thinking or telling about past experiences

Indirect Characterization is

• When an author uses a narrator or a character to state character traits of a character

• When an author shows the reader character traits using events that require the reader to make inferences.

• the perspective the story is told from.

• the practice or art of using an object or a word to represent an abstract idea.