AutobioIncident+detail+gather+page

=Make a detailed list of the following information= Skipping a line between each


 * Where** did it occur? Be specific. (These are the elements of setting: Mood, Weather, Place Objects, Time of Day...)


 * Who** was there? Make a list? (This is your characterization)

What happened just **before** the event? (This is your background. What led up to this event the moment, hour, day, week before? What prior knowledge do you need to access/include? What personal history does the reader need to understand the situation?)

What happened just **after** the event? (This is called Aftermath. What are the consequences? How have you changed? Are these changes internal or physical? Do you have an altered sense of reality?)


 * How** did you feel? List at least 5 **feeling** words (Make them interesting. Avoid overused and boring words like //happy// or //sad//. Remember, you might have felt a range of emotions.)

List at least 1 **sensory detai**l for each of the 5 senses. Some of these will be tough to think of. Work your brain! Close your eyes and focus on the senses one at a time.
 * Taste**-Blood from a cut lip. A raw throat due to a mouthful of salty, gritty ocean.
 * Touch**-The cold squish of gum under a desk. The rough rasp of a cat's tongue.
 * Sight**-A gasoline rainbow in a gutter. Noonday glare off a car hood.
 * Sound**-The hum of fluorescent lighting. The muffled ring tones of your cell phone from inside your pocket.
 * Smell**-Wet pavement and the muddy smell of earthworms after a hard rain.

Create a **metaphor** or **simile** (Getting my little brother to eat broccoli is a battle in which knowledge of guerrilla warfare tactics becomes useful.) (Having my nose reset after being broken was like having my brain pulled out through my nostrils.)


 * Who else** might this have happened to? Who would identify with your situation. (Your making a more global connection. This has to do with audience and purpose)


 * Why** do you believe you thought of this particular incident? (What is its significance? How did you grow/change? What did you learn?)

Now go and choose what you feel is your **#1 most important** detail. You will be using this element to **begin** your story. Write a //catchy// //arresting// sentence using this item. This will start as the first sentence of your story. Try to create a statement using language that is //startling, curious, clever or humorous.//