Shaping Your Memoir: October 24, 2018

Focus: What is a narrative arc, and how can you use it to bring meaning to your writing?

1. Warming up with a sample artifact memoir: "Eleven," by Sandra Cisneros

• What sensory imagery do you find the most engaging?

• What is the narrator's epiphany (light bulb moment)? In other words, what does she come to realize better or differently?

2. Returning to memoir writing and considering your narrative arc

• Trying it out with "Eleven"

• Making sure you've chosen your memoir, labeled it "READ THIS ONE," and placed it inside your Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close Folder.

• Shaping your memoir using the narrative arc; figuring out which scenes still need to be written
• Try to identify your turning point first; the rest of the arc will fall into place.

3. Editing your memoir to give it a narrative arc

• Do you need to develop your exposition (who, what, when, where, why)?

• Do you need to develop your rising action (building conflicts / heightening tension)?

• Do you need a turning point in which you experience a shift in your thinking? Do you need to slow down on your turning point?

• Do you need more falling action and resolution in which you come to understand something better or differently?

HW:
1. For FRIDAY: Complete rough draft of memoir due.

2. For TUESDAY, Oct 30: Final draft of memoir due in www.turnitin.com by 4:00.