Feelings, judgments and expectations

Autobiographies and recounts tell you who, what, and when facts. Memoirs also tell you, from the writer’s point of view, why those facts were important.

For example, here is a snippet that gives you a flat description. Click on the expanders to see Ned Vizzini’s reflecting on those ‘whys’.

I first witnessed a Nintendo upstairs at my neighbor Todd’s apartment. Todd, a Cool Kid, was a couple of years older than me. He always got the good toys first. I was instantly awestruck by his Nintendo; like television, it had the power to make you happy. Todd could plunk down in front of it anytime, play for a few hours, and be giddy when he stopped. He told me, “Nintendo’s even better than TV, ’cause you can win.”

Todd was right.

Teen Angst? Naaah... (2000)

Vizzini helps us understand his eventual addiction to Nintendo by including feelings (he was instantly awestruck), judgments (a cool kid showed him how great it was) and an explanation (Todd the Cool Kid was an early adopter).

Let’s look at the snippet again, breaking down those ‘whys’.

I first witnessed a Nintendo upstairs at my neighbor Todd’s apartment. Todd, a Cool Kid, was a couple of years older than me. He always got the good toys first. I was instantly awestruck by his Nintendo; like television, it had the power to make you happy. Todd could plunk down in front of it anytime, play for a few hours, and be giddy when he stopped. He told me, “Nintendo’s even better than TV, ’cause you can win.”

Todd was right.

Teen Angst? Naaah... (2000)

Let’s look at some examples based on the snippet, using different combinations of feelings, judgments and explanations.

My first grade teacher was Ms Greenwood. Ms Greenwood was young and trendy, even to my six year old mind. She wore the sort of clothes I only ever saw in my Mum’s fashion magazines. I had an instant crush on her; she could do no wrong in my mind. The clincher was when she appeared on a local game show during the year. I’ll never forget the day I saw my teacher. ON TELEVISION!

Ms Greenwood was spectacular.

The first time I thought about becoming a nurse was after I broke both arms rock climbing. Trevor, the nurse at the hospital, was a large bearded guy with sleeve tattoos, looking more like a biker than someone interested in health care. I’d lived a bit of sheltered life at that stage and it hadn’t even crossed my mind that you could be interested in both. I just stared at him, impressed by his easygoing friendliness and effortless skill at bandaging me up; before this point, ‘nurses’ to me meant prim old ladies with stern faces and starched uniforms. Trevor chatted to me about rock climbing like we’d been friends for life. Before it even registered, my broken bones were neatly wrapped in black fiberglass casts. While I hadn’t said so, he said he picked early that black was my favourite colour.

He was right. It looked so cool.

Write about a significant experience. Start with the facts, then add feelings, judgements and explanations to show why this experience was significant.

Memoir Basics 1: What's in a memoir?

Feelings, judgments and expectations