It is now time for you to begin writing your memoir.  You may focus on something in your graph or in your neighborhood map.  Or you can focus on an event that isn’t on either of those.  The important thing to remember is that the even should be meaningful to you.  And it should be something that you feel comfortable writing about.

Your memoir should be between 500 and 750 words.  If you need to write more than that, you can, but make sure you are focusing on a single event.

One of the things that you will want to think about is the beginning of your memoir.  This is called the “lead.”

You will want the beginning of your memoir to be very interesting and to lead the reader into the rest of the piece of writing.  Here are some examples of good leads from some famous authors who wrote memoirs.

“I was six years old when my mother taught me the art of invisible strength.
      --Amy Tan

“You are not the kind of guy who would be at a place like this at this time of the morning.”
      --Jay McInerney

“You must not tell anyone,” my mother said, “what I am about to tell you.”
      --The Woman Warrior

“The name my family calls me is Morning Girl, because I wake up early always with something on my mind.”
      --Michael Dorris

“Suddenly everything stops.”
      --Alison James

“Every so often that dead dog dreams me up again.”
      --Stephanie Vaughn

“the doorman of the Kilmarnock was six foot two.  He wore a pale blue uniform, and white gloves made his hands look enormous.  He opened the door of the yellow taxi as gently as an old maid stroking a cat.”
      --Raymond Chandler
 

Drawing Your Neighborhood
Baby Steps and Thoughtshots
Memoir Overview
Graphing Your Life