Setting&

DescriptionFor Memoir or

Novel© 2014 Deborah Wilbrink

NOVEL• Fictional Prose with Characters• Long and Complex Plot• Narrative, Heroes, Style, Art!

Murasaki Shikibu’s The Tale of Genji 

Satyricon by Petronius

MEMOIR• Biography – about someone

else’s life, birth – current/death• Autobiography – about self

from birth to current• Memoir – key events about

self, can have a theme or focus

MEMOIRTruth vs. Perception

Truth is as you see it and tell it.

Don’t lie.

Don’t get lost in verification. (double-checking)

Turn bitterness to helpful remembrance. Memoir is not a good place for vengeance.

MEMOIRFamous vs. Commoner

Which are you?

Everyone’s life is significant

Everyday life is history

Find your life’s significance through memoir!

YOUR STORY: ELEMENTSYou can use this model that authors have

used for centuries. Aristotle teaches two. My lessons teach each one in turn.

• Setting• Character• Plot• Conflict• Moral• Theme• Topics Generation, Voice, Style, Titles,

and Resources for Writers

YOUR STORY: ELEMENTS

• Setting: Where and When?• Character• Plot• Conflict• Moral• Theme• Plus Topics, Voice, Style, Titles, and

ResourcesPhoto from Echoes in the Universe by Leonard Goodwin

The Five Sensestrigger memory

and describe• Taste• Touch• Sight• Smell• Sound• Psychic?

Smell, especially, can bring back

memories.A place, like a kitchen or

workshop, will have sounds, smells, tastes, and touch sensations as strong as or stronger than sights.

Try to remember these when you describe your setting.

Descriptive PracticeSense Memory or Character event

Or : List evocative words

Sight

Smell

Sound

Taste

Sensation (Feel)

Psychic sensation/Emotion

Example: Taste 1st Pumpkin cheesecake 1st pregnancy / Sinful, delicious, velvety, pungent, erotic, creamy, fulsome, exotic, familiar, deep kiss

Write Your Own Classic 1Happy writing…

Classes elaborate, give examples, offer time to write, read and

comment.

Subscribe to my Point Of View blog on the website for tips to drop in

your mailbox when posted.

Deborah Wilbrink

deb@perfectmemoirs.com

c. 2014 all rights reserved