Citing Vivian Gornick, Michael Steinberg tells us that all stories have a “situation” and a “story.” “The situation,” he explains, “is the context or circumstance, sometimes the plot; the story is the emotional experience that preoccupies the reader: the insight, the wisdom, the thins one has come to say” (421).
For this assignment, I’d like you to spend some time describing the “situation” of your memoir. That is to say, I’d like you to describe what happened in the simplest terms: the plot, the events, what happened, when, and where. You can include as many thoughts or feelings that you can remember, but try your best to keep your writing focused on describing the story in detail, reporting on events without worrying (at least for now) about their meaning or larger implication. You can (and should) use any of the writing we’ve done so far, including the and we did in class, but please do not just copy and paste these assignments into this one. Instead, read through your writing and try your best to assemble it into a coherent narrative.
You only need to write the first 500 words of your memoir (though you may of course write more if you’re on a roll), but somewhere in this writing there should be evidence of at least one of the conventions of memoir that we’ve looked at so far. These can include: the innocent and/or experienced voice, the use of different “speeds,” or the introduction of multiple threads that will eventually result in a braided narrative. I want you to use innocent voice and experienced voice.
Requirements: 500words