Memoir Basics 4: Writing an eye-catching opener

About Standards
Introduction
Story - Narrative
Middle years and up
memoir
personal narrative
reflective writing
first person reflection
first person point of view
openings
narrative structure
plot
themes
style
narrative hooks
dramatic opposites
personal statements
describing memory
compelling detail
zooming out
first person pov
Purpose
Explore how the opening of a memoir needs to be eye-catching and quickly give the reader a sense of plot, themes, and style.
Description
In this lesson we rewrite five different styles of openers from a variety of memoirs. In each snippet we look at how the author quickly converys, plot, themes, and writing style, and uses eye-catching details to entice the reader to continue reading the book. The lesson finishes with a checkpoint piece that combines these features.
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