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Dive into the art of memoir writing with insights from author Esme Raji Codell. Learn about plot structure elements like exposition, rising action, climax, and falling action. Discover tips on creating a captivating beginning for your memoir using questions, vivid descriptions, facts, sound effects, and intentional fragments. Explore techniques for engaging readers, building up to the climax, and using powerful words to enhance your storytelling. Uncover the importance of pacing, paragraph structure, and avoiding "dead words" in your narrative. Let Esme Raji Codell's words inspire you to preserve your memories in a way that truly captures their essence.
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Memoirs: Making a Story of Your Memories “Let me tell you something. When you are a kid, you think you are going to remember everything. You think you are going to remember everyone who sits next to you in class and all the things that crack you up. …You think you are going to remember how you feel being a kid. You think you will always remember to well that you will be the best grown-up who ever lived. And you might. Or you might be like me, who isn’t all that old yet but already old enough to get a kind of amnesia. Memories are like days and bones and paper: they can turn to dust, and they change if they are not preserved.” -EsmeRajiCodell
Plot Structure • Exposition: establishes the setting, characters, and conflict/main idea (& remember conflict can be external or internal) • Rising Action: takes up a majority of the story, events that building up to the climax -- • Climax: the big moment, major turning point for the main character – YOU, IN A MEMOIR! • Falling Action: resolution or wrap of the story For example, the rising action in The Three Little Pigs takes place as the pigs set out on their own and begin to make their own decisions. We know that the first two individuals are asking for trouble when they choose unsound materials to build houses. These decisions (along with the wolf who lurks in the background) create an air of tension that mounts as the story progresses. Things get more and more exiting and tense each time the wolf blows down a house! The action builds toward an ultimate showdown between pigs and wolf, which is the…
Something to think about #1: Fishing for an audience with a good HOOK Your story needs a strong beginning to hook your readers. You can achieve this using one of the following methods: • A Question • A Vivid Description • An Interesting Fact • Sound Effects (onomatopoeia) • A Hint at Something to Come • Action or Intentional Fragments
Hook with a question Have you ever had a day when you wished you had stayed in bed? As I rushed to catch the bus on what seemed to be a perfectly normal day I had no idea what was ahead of me.
Hook with a vivid description The sun was warm on my back as I raced toward the waiting yellow school bus. As I nestled into the worn leather seat I was greeted by the friendly voices of other excited children. The look on my face was one of confidence and contentment. With a jerk the bus rumbled down the road and I was on my way into one of the worst days of my life.
Hook with an interesting fact Shock has been known to kill people. It can cause their brains to explode and their heart to stop dead still. These facts raced through my mind as I stood dumbfounded in front of my fifth grade classmates. I wish I had stayed in bed!
Hook with sound effects (onomatopoeia) Buzzzzzz! The sound of my alarm clock droned in my ears as I struggled to come awake. With a start I sat straight up in my bed. This was my big day and I had to be on time.
Amelia’s 5th-Grade Notebook: a hint at something to come
Something to think about #2: When do I create a new paragraph? • Your hook gets your audience interested, but you still have to keep your “fish” on the line! Your exposition doesn’t end with your hook. You CAN have more than one paragraph in your exposition. Finish introducing your setting, characters, and problem first. • Be sure your story has paragraphs. They tell when you're switching time, place, topic or speaker, and they help break the page up so it is not just a solid block of writing.
Something to think about #3: Walking up Mt. Rising Action • The middle of your story should build up to the climax by telling of the events leading to it. Imagine that you (the author) are leading your group (your audience) up a mountain – it’s an exciting journey, but the big part comes at the peak! • Include actions, thoughts, and feelings as you go.
Something to think about #4 – Avoid DEAD words Remember words like said, went, and put are dead. Use WOW words to describe.
Went NOT My dad went to work. BUT My dad raced to work.
Said NOT Jane said she had a secret. BUT Jane whispered to Peter a wonderful secret.
The Show, Don’t Tell Trick The Show, Don’t Tell trick in writing is when the author is able to create a picture in the reader's mind.
NOT Wendi worked out. BUT Sweat poured down Wendi’s forehead and cheeks as she sprinted towards the 95 pound log she still had to haul down the field.
Instead use WOW words Show your reader that you have a high-quality, first-class, superior, excellent, exceptional, outstanding, brilliant, extraordinary, incomparable vocabulary by using POWERFUL WORDS.
http://alon.hasharon.k12.il/new_ataralon/mikzoot/english/.%5Cdenise_text%5Cforcedownload.asp?fileToDownload=wowWords12class6.dochttp://alon.hasharon.k12.il/new_ataralon/mikzoot/english/.%5Cdenise_text%5Cforcedownload.asp?fileToDownload=wowWords12class6.doc
Something to think about #5: The BIG Finish • The climax should have been revealed by this point. It can be that BIG “OMG, DID THAT JUST HAPPEN?!” MOMENT! or just a twist in the main character’s life that forces a change of some sort. • Your ending should also reveal how you dealt with your conflict, how you overcame your problem, how your story ended – this is the resolution/falling action part. Your reader should feel like the story is complete.
