Module 1 | Lesson 1 | Lesson 2 | Lesson 3 | Lesson 4 | Lesson 5 | Lesson 6 | Lesson 7

Personal Narrative & Memoir Writing

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Is the Stranger in the Photo . . . You?

Taking our Childhood Perspective Journaling and Photograph Show & Share as springboard pre-writing from Lesson 3 of Module 1, we will extend to a Personal Narrative or Memoir of our own.

1. Pre-Writing

Re-examine the model memoirs to see the various ways in which you can approach your text:

• Think about the theme each of these authors explore through their memoirs
• Podcast like David A. Roberson’s (2021) Kiwew: Episode 1: Effie
• Article or Personal Narrative Essay like Donald Murray’s (1991) The Stranger in the Photo is Me 
• Letter to your past self (or video letter) like Ivan Coyote’s (2012) Dear Younger Self 
• Interactive Narrative (or audio-narrative) like Everest Pipkin’s (2020) Shell Song

Use your childhood photograph from earlier in the module to shape your text:

• Refer back to the journaling you completed at the beginning of the module
• Use details, memories, perceptions, and ideas that can be gathered up then arranged with purpose.\
• Where (else) does your photo take you in memory?
• Who were you at that point in time? What were your thoughts, desires, dreams, worries? Are they the same today? Is this persona stranger to you?
• Take your reader beyond the edges of the picture

2. Drafting

Organize Your Ideas as they relate to your chosen form

• Podcast Episode, Article, Letter to past self (or video letter), Interactive Narrative
  • Each of these forms hold their own structure, but all have a beginning – middle – end
  • while the final products are different, each begins with prewriting and drafting
  • A good app to map out your ideas, especially if you are making an interactive text: MIRO
• Below is a list of ideas to help you think about ways to organize your ideas, but is not a mandatory list of content

Beginning – Introduction Ideas: you could describe . . .

• how you feel about memories and/or photographs
• the context of the photograph
• how you feel about the person/people in the photograph

Middle – Body Ideas: you could examine. . .

• the significance of the photograph (situation, people, impact on you, etc.)
• how you feel about that memory now
• advice for your younger self
• your child perspective versus your present perspective
• how your view of the world has or has not changed

End – Conclusion Ideas: you could reflect on. . .

• advice for your past self
• whether or not the person in the photo is a stranger to you
• how your view of the world has or has not changed

3. Revising

• Read through your work out loud
• Add, remove, or rearrange sentences, words, paragraphs
• Ask yourself:
  • does it make sense?
  • would someone who was not present in this memory understand it?
  • have I developed my message?
• Peer Feedback is a great strategy – find a partner in the class and exchange drafts to help with the revision process
• If you are making an interactive text: check that all of your pathways lead your reader in the direction you want and there are no “dead ends”

4. Editing

• Read through your work again
• This time check for spelling and grammar
• This is another opportunity for peer feedback!

5. Publishing

• Record your Podcast or Video (Powtoon, VideoScribe, Audacity, and more)
• Format your Article or Letter (Word, Google Docs, or check out Book Creator)
• Create your Interactive Narrative (Twine & Twine Tutorial Playlist)
• You do not have to publish your memoir to your blog, but you may if you wish

Assessment Rubric