Some tips for writing your photo-story

I adapted the following very helpful tips from this website.

A memoir is a reflection on a memory. The writer tries to capture the “true essence” of the memory by bringing meaning to the memory. A memoir does not only recount an episode or a memory, but also the memoir reveals the person. 

For example, a personal narrative may recount a first bike ride, or a trip to the beach. But in a memoir, the purpose of the story is to reveal something enduring about oneself. As the writer, you are searching for the truth and significance of the story.

Here are some tips to help you get started:

Write down “stand-out moments.” What moments in your life do you remember as being important, or happy, or sad? Think about some of these “defining moments” in life…some may include:

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• Birth of a sibling
  
• Getting a pet
  
• A question that has always bothered you
• Family trip
  
• Favorite transportation (bike, skateboard, car, etc.)
  
• A time you discovered something unique about yourself

1. Try the "character strengths" survey here for some hints.

• Learning how to do something
  
• Discovering something you do well
• Winning or losing a contest
• Moving
• Family Secret
  
• Meeting a best friend

• A special birthday, holiday, or vacation
  
• Doing something that took a lot of courage
  
• A major illness or accident
  
• Being lost
• Death of a loved one or pet
  
• Trip you have taken
  
• Special family tradition

• Think about family stories that have been told about you.
  
• Think about selected people in your life, religion, ethnicity and culture.
  
• Think about places: landscapes, neighborhood, block, certain houses, secret 
  
• or private places.
  
• Think about rooms in your home (kitchen, den, dining room, bedroom) and memories these places evoke.

How to get beyond 'what happened':

The following can help you move from the event itself to revealing something interesting about yourself. Write about:

1.Before the Event 
Thoughts & feelings leading up to the event

2. Event 
What happened? What impressed you? What was it that changed you in some way?

3. After the Event 
New thoughts & feelings about yourself

4. Change & Realization 
How were your thoughts & feelings changed by this experience?

How to write a really boring memoir