100 word memoir

100 word memoirs ● Review the PDF of 100 word memoirs attached in google classroom.

Then, answer the following questions on your worksheet. ○ Which of those stories is your favorite? Why?

○ What do you notice about how these writers tell their stories? How do they set up conflict, character, setting, dialogue, etc?

○ What makes a successful 100 word memoir?

Tip #1: Show, Don’t Tell My King in the Uniroyal Jacket

Dad, do you remember when you came home late from work (as you did in those days) and scooped me up out of bed, wrapped me in my blanket and set me on the back of your borrowed motorcycle? We rode to the A&W and sat on a bench under the egg-yolk-yellow lights with root beer floats: the orange awning flapping, the moonlit sky, the future, childhood that would last a lifetime, the smell of work in your shirt, me, the prince of your moment, and you, the king in your Uniroyal jacket. — Theodore Groves

How does the writing help you see, hear, smell, taste and feel. What verbs, nouns and adjectives make the descriptions vivid? What would the pieces be like without these stylistic choices?

Tip #2: Open by dropping your reader right into the action

I Said, “I Love You.” He Said, “Thanks.”

We were in my hammock when I looked at the socks I was wearing, the ones he had lent me, and told him the words I was so scared to say: “I love you.” The hammock swayed, crickets chirped. “Thanks,” he said, “but I don’t yet.” He pointed at my feet. “Those don’t fit me. Do you want them?” I thought the hammock had tipped, thrown me violently out; he didn’t love me, this was it. But years later, we still lie in my hammock and I still wear those socks. He was right; they are too small for his feet. — Madeleine Fawcett

What backstory does this story imply? How does starting in the middle of the action grab your attention?

Tip #3: Use Dialogue A Simple Friendship

“Blah-blah?” she would say, knocking. Only 2, Isabelle would venture through the building’s halls to my apartment. Together, we’d water my plants or scribble a story. At 3, she told me all about Peppa Pig. At 4, Isabelle came to my door, saying, “Bla-bla, taste Mommy’s kheer.” We savored its delicate sweetness. On East 84th Street in Manhattan, we watched tulips bloom, leaves fall, snow arrive. “Hi, Barbara,” Isabelle said at 5. Sitting on my window ledge, she’d count taxis and doggies. Unlike the complicated men I dated, if I offered Isabelle a tangerine, she’d simply relish it. — Barbara Field

What do the quoted lines add to this piece?

Write your 100 word memoir! ● Choose a specific moment in your life you would like to write about (it

should be a small moment) ● Write about that moment using just 100 words

○ Look at the example memoirs for guidance and be creative!

○ You will have the opportunity to share out in class Monday