JRIF - Critiquing and Revising Memory Research (Lesson)
Critiquing and Revising Memory Research
Introduction
“You don't write because you want to say something, you write because you have something to say.” - F. Scott Fitzgerald
Many young writers feel that they don’t have anything to say or that they don’t have stories to tell. This is categorically untrue. Every person has experiences and every experience has a unique perspective. It is therefore a question of how to find them. The Heart Map can be a great start as well as creating a habit of daily writing. In this lesson, we will look at two other forms of writing prompt that acknowledge and celebrate stories we inherently have but may not have given thought to recently, the Memory Map and the Scar Story. In addition to instructions for exploring these prompts as research of memory, this module will explore methods of critical response. At the end of the module, you will use the research of memory writing prompts to write, critique, receive feedback, and revise an original work based on your own memory.
Methods of Critical Response
In the presentation below, we will discuss different methods for critical response. Throughout this course, you will be serving in the capacity of a critical responder to your peers. This presentation will help guide you in that process.
Below the presentation, you will find a link to a presentation guide. Download the presentation guide and fill it out as you follow along with the presentation. The guide is not graded, but will serve as a study tool to help you capture and understand the content of the presentation.
Download a guide for this presentation here. Links to an external site.
Memory Mapping and Scar Stories
In a previous lesson, you learned a method for brainstorming called Heart Mapping. Now, we will examine another type of brainstorming called memory mapping. A memory map is a visual representation of a place (such as a neighborhood, a school, a park, a geographical location, somewhere larger than a single room), with sensory words and descriptors that illuminate your memories.
Listed below is a step-by-step pr Links to an external site.ocess for creating a Memory Map:
- Choose a place where you have strong memories. This can be a neighborhood, a school, a park, somewhere larger than a single room.
- Sketch blueprints of basic structures and objects. Scale does not matter. What’s important is the 'feel' of the locations.
- Label with proper nouns.
- Label with the five senses. What do areas look, smell, feel, sound, and taste like?
- Label 10-15 areas minimum on the map where something happened that you remember.
A memory map is designed to help draw out sensory details related to a personal story.
Transforming Memory Mapping into a Story
Timed “I Remember” Instructions
- Select one of the 10-15 marked locations of the memory map and start a timed writing.
- Decide on the specific event associated with that marked location.
- Set a timer for 10 minutes
- Start the writing with "I remember." Don’t stop writing for the entire 10 minutes. Every time you feel that you don’t know what to say start with ”I Remember” again.
Self -Editing Instructions for the “I Remember” Timed Writing
- Read over your writing. See if you can find the kernels of a cohesive story with a beginning, middle, and end.
- Self-edit and rewrite the story. Clean up the structure so that it flows easily and sticks to the point. Adjust the language to reflect how you feel about the memory. This should not be long. ½ page to 1 page maximum. When satisfied by a first draft set it aside.
What is a Scar Story?
“A little talent is a nice thing to have if you want to be a writer, but the only real requirement is the ability to remember the story of every scar.” - Stephen King
“From every wound there is a scar, and every scar tells a story. A story that says, “I survived.” - Fr. Craig Scott
A Scar Story is another method aimed at mining your past for personally invested stories. This one is based on a physical scar that you have.
Using actual physical scars you currently have, complete a timed writing.
- Decide on the Scar.
- Set a timer for 10 minutes
- Start the writing with a narrative that begins prior to receiving the scar. Don’t stop writing for the entire 10 minutes!
- If get to the end of the scar story or you feel you have completed the story prior to the time running out reset to an earlier point in the story and add details.
- Set your draft aside.
Self -Editing Instructions for the 'Scar Story' Initial Draft
- Look at what you have written.
- Read over your writing. See if you can find the kernels of a cohesive story with a beginning, middle, and end.
- Self-edit and rewrite the story. Clean up the structure so that it flows easily and sticks to the point. Adjust the language to reflect how you feel about the memory. This should not be long: 1 page to 2 page maximum.
Critical Review & Memory Research Self-Assessment
Review the material from this lesson below. If you have questions about what you have learned in this lesson, reach out to your instructor.
IMAGES AND VIDEO CREATED BY GAVS.