An Indelible Childhood Memory
Choose one incident from your childhood where you learn something about yourself, about life or about others. Choose an incident that might be a first experience for you or one that taught you to grow up or something about yourself.
Describe the “scene” in a way that makes it possible for others to get to know something about you. You may focus on whatever you think is important. You may include physical description but do not limit yourself to that.
Remember the purpose of this story telling is to reveal something about yourself, maybe something that you did not previously recognize about yourself.
• Do write about something you care about/have an emotional connection to
• Do start off with action, if it fits, with your character doing something
• Do choose just one part or aspect of your topic (you may have to edit it down)
• Do include dialogue (review rules for using dialogue in a story) and a description of the setting
• Do use your senses (touch, taste, sight, smell, hearing)
The premise, or thesis should not be written directly. Do not start the story with “this story is about when I took a risk.” Describe the incident.
Keep your story to one to one and a half pages in length.
Don’t name the characteristic; don’t tell us directly about yourself. Choose a story or incident to tell us, in other words: SHOW, DON’T TELL.
