Assignments
The sources include several assignments that move writers toward memoir. Many of the following ones are assignments that will develop materials or skills that then can be added to to the writer's resources in the move toward developing a full memoir.
Senses: Describe your former residence or another favorite place using senses other than sight.
--Barrington, 118
Really look at things or people. In the case of people, what visual cues signal a particular emotion--what are the non-verbal cues, in other words? Do the same with all the senses.
--Roorbach, 50-51
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People: Pick an age and list 10 people you knew at that time. Pick one of those 10 at random and generate as much detail as possible.
Write (and you could also draw) a portrait of someone you dislike--knowing that it will not be read. Rewrite the portrait in order to make it public. What did you have to change?
Write a family story for yourself. Then, rewrite it for a friend to read. Revise the first version, getting the benefit of the second version as you do.
--Barrington, 31, 127, 137
Mind-map (create a visual tool) so as to develop the social network of your life. In addition to family, include friends, co-worker, people from your childhood, and acquaintances now.
--Roorbach, 78
Photo: Use a photo as a stimulus for writing about your family. In addition to the people, what does the photo suggest about social, cultural, and inter-personal interactions?
--Trimbur, 180
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Places: Think of a street or place where you used to live and describe it in detail, using not only senses but activities that used to occur there. (Prepare for this by drawing the street and as many spots on it as you can remember.)
--Barrington, 127
Map: Create a detailed map of a place of significance to you. Begin by working from your memory, adding in as much detail as possible. Then, if possible do research (visiting the spot, interviewing others) to compare your memory with that of others. Use the information on the map as the basis for a story, keeping in mind that this is a story, not a report. Because it's a story, you need to emphasize what happened there.
--Roorbach, 24
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Things: What book or film or play is very close to you? Think of a reader who has never read it. Write so that the reader will understand it and the value you place in it. Be sure to include how it influences you personally.
--Barrington, 150
Artifacts: Create an artifact memoir by thinking about a thing that exemplifies a memoir-moment. Capture it as a photo or drawing and write an extended "artist's statement" about it. Be sure to include not only the significance of the artifact as a memoir but also a detailed description of the artifact including your thinking about the choices you made as you created it. See the artifacts section of this project site for brief examples.
--McQueeney
Scrapbook or Photo Album or School Yearbook or Social Networking Site: Review a scrapbook or photo album--your own or someone else's. Write a paper analyzing what the choices the creator made tell us. Keep in mind the technological limitations of the period in which the book was made.
--Trimbur, 177-178
Collage: Collect artifacts that signify a person or event or place you want to focus on in your memoir. Arrange the individual artifacts attractively, creating a poster, folder collage, or electronic collage that can be shared with others. Write and/or present an explanation of your choices, emphasizing the overall impression you wanted to convey with this graphic illustration.
--McQueeney
Time Capsule: As a group, collect materials to be put in a time capsule to be opened at a future time you designate. Write and/or present an explanation of your choices, emphasizing the overall impression you wanted to convey with this graphic illustration.
--Trimbur, 179-180
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Social Class: Write about your family's class/status stories. Speculate on the purpose class and status serve within your family. Note: The paper from this assignment might lead you to locate themes for a longer memoir.
--Barrington, 31-32
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Events: Think of the historical or cultural importance of an event you want to write about. How did you learn of the event originally? Who introduced you to it? How has the event had an impact on you?
Describe the life in your family in a specific year. To do that, research what was going on in the popular culture that year. Draw that information into your writing.
Write about a job that you've held. What is the impact of this work on others? How did you feel about this work? How did it affect your life? Include sense, description of people, and other details.
Write about mealtimes, including the scene, summary of events and musings about them.
--Barrington, 92,149-150
List the major stepping stones in your life. Then, list your major desires. Next, combine the two lists by sensing which desires preceded which stepping stones. Write it out; you'll have a story.
--Rainer, 51
Focus on a past event that challenged your values or that was a difficult decision you were forced to make. As an alternative, work with a situation that turned out unexpectedly or with disappointing results.
--Trimbur, 181
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Voice: Voice is the "range of style, approach, and diction that uniquely characterizes a writer's work" (137). Read several pieces of personal writing. Select one that interests you. Pick a powerful sentence from this selection. Write in the voice of the writer whose essay you selected. What did you have to do that is foreign to you? How would you change the passage you created to be more in your own voice?
--Trimbur, 38-39
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Research: Research an aspect of your culture heritage. Food or rituals or holidays, perhaps. Or focus on a historic event that linked your personal story/memories to the broader public history. Develop that into a researched memoir, where you are using your original research to tell your personal story.
--Trimbur, 181
Works Cited
Barrington, Judith. Writing the Memoir: A Practical Guide to the Craft, the Personal Challenges, and Ethical Dilemmas of Writing Your True Stories. Portland, OR: The Eighth Mountain P, 2002.
Rainer, Tristine. Your Life as Story: Discovering the "new Autobiography" and Writing Memoir as Literature. New York: Jeremy P. Tarcher/Putnam, 1998.
Roorbach, Bill. Writing Life Stories: How to Make Memories into Memoirs, Ideas into Essays, and Life into Literature. Cincinnati, Story P, 1998.
Trimbur, John. The Call to Write. New York: Longman, 1999.
