Tag: suspense
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More Tips about Constructing the Timeline of a Memoir
Every memoir writer has to steer through these decisions, to determine not only how much to include, but also how to do it gracefully. By working out their challenges with time, character development and suspense, they successfully set the reader’s expectation and then fulfilled those expectations. These memoirs and the hundreds of others I have…
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Lessons from Kephart: Labels, Definitions, Language
When Beth Kephart’s son was diagnosed with a vague “disorder” she had to cope with the news. But how do you make sense of information that affects people you love when it is so technical you can barely understand it? You must sort out more than jargon. This is your son, and you must take…
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Memoir Lessons: Moms, Quirks, Choices
Even those who firmly believe mother knows best also know of situations like Beth Kephart’s in which the child presents problems that exceed the mother’s grasp. At what moment does the mother decide that her own resources are not sufficient? It’s a profound question I would have never thought about before reading this memoir, about…
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Memoir Lessons: Mysteries of emerging consciousness
Jeremy was using his words to explain his actions, and that’s what memoir writers do, too. Your whole memoir is an attempt to describe how your life works, from inside your point of view.
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Lessons 4-5 from Beth Kephart’s Memoir, Slant of Sun
Pick a scene, and instead of jumping right to the outcome, build up to it. Remember how you felt while you were still worried, still anticipating. Did you discuss your fears with other people, or muse about the possibilities? Pause, anticipate, feel heart racing. Note the tension. Let my heart pound, too.
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A dog made famous by an expert storyteller
There’s nothing fantastic or magnificent about a young family and a dog. And so, to earn its success it must have been told exceptionally well. That offers an excellent learning opportunity for the rest of us who want to turn the events of our lives into stories worth reading.
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