Category: Gateway Babcock F19

“A memoir is a collection of memories that an individual writes about moments or events, both public or private, that took place in the subject’s/person’s life.” I struggled to find an additional genre that allowed me to truly summarize my college living experience. I think that a memoir is a great way of encapsulating my living experiences, especially because I adore my current roommate. It’s the happy resolution that a memoir should have. It is a subgenre of autobiography that does not require one’s entire life story. I’m interested in it because I think the genre encompasses that reminiscent connotation that I am currently feeling. Perhaps this is a product of the changing leaves, my new status as an upperclassman, or my graduate school search. Regardless, a memoir seems like a fitting way to end the semester.

Personally, I always thought memoir had a sad connotation. After looking into the genre, it seems more about an uplifting story. I prefer this happier narrative and I think I can do it. Most of the ones I’m familiar with, such as I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, are coming-of-age stories that almost have an expectation of being something the reader needs to be sympathetic. This is one of the most famous memoirs because it tackles trauma and racism, subject matters far more severe than the story I’m telling. In my genre research, I attempted to find reader expectations as opposed to my typical search for writer expectations. In this, I found:

–A sympathetic main character

–Vividly depicted scenes

–Emotional tension

–Increasing sense of drama/conflict:

–A satisfying ending

My story provides all of these. I think I can add emotion to a lot of the scenes, especially when provided the lack of patience I was experiencing during much of this because I was in such a toxic relationship that I allowed to characterize my living experience for the better part of this.

There is also an expectation for a memoir to have a deeper meaning. I think I can give life to this premise through the coming-of-age aspect of it. The personal growth I experienced because of this, especially with regard to overcoming social anxiety, depression, and abuse during this time will allow me to cultivate this. I would love to explore this route because it is less comical and forces me to reflect on the situation from a different perspective. I’d like to focus more on the positive for a change. It’d be nice in the midst of exams.

Going into this third experiment I was pretty lost as to what I wanted my next genre to be. The previous two came to me pretty easily, but I was really struggling with picking a third because I felt like I had already hit a lot of the ideas I had come into the project with. So in order to gain a fresh perspective I ventured back to the very beginning and tried to figure out what made me passionate about pursuing this topic in the first place, and I realized it was the examples I had seen in my own life of human control of nature that had sparked my interest and passion. So, I figured, if I want to try and get other people to care about this topic like I do, what better method is there than to show them the same things that made me care in the first place?

So before doing my research I was pretty convinced I had the idea of a photo essay down. You get some pictures (photo), and then you put some words with it (essay) and boom you’re done. In many ways my original thought is not wrong, but even just scratching the surface of the topic showed me that there was a lot more I had to consider and how much thought and care really goes into a project like this. 

The basic conventions of a photo essay are as follows

1. Focuses on a specific narrative or theme

2. Has a collection of photographs

3. Captions of varying length (from a few words to full paragraphs)

4. Evokes some sort of emotion in the reader

Now it is that 4^thconvention that is going to be a tricky one. I can take pictures and I can write words, but getting people to care about human control over the environment? That’s going to take some creativity and practice. I am really excited to play around with this genre and see what I can create with it and hopefully how I can relate it to the emotions I have been exploring with my previous experiments. 

When doing this research, I decided to look at some photo essay examples, and found one from The Guardian looking at the 2019 Rugby World Cup in Japan. It was an interesting array of photographs that outlined not only the sport, but also the cultural interaction and community development that comes with an international sports competition like this. The author used quotes from coaches and players and connected them with groups of photos in a way that made me feel connected to a story I have no outside ties to. This piece gave me a better understanding of how the captions and photos can be used together to generate emotion in the reader. 

Goodnight Moon! Oh the Places You’ll Go! Good Night Gorilla! Moo, Baa, La La La! Where the Wild things Are!

All of these books played a very important part in my childhood, entertaining me, teaching me, and helping me dream of a big future. Children’s books really are the foundation for my love of reading and writing, but how does one go about making an impactful and entertaining children’s book?! Let’s see!

The two most important aspect of any children’s book is to include lots of imagination and to have a specific message or theme. The goal of the story should be to create wild and fantastic worlds that expand kid’s minds, but also to make sure that aspects of children’s natural environments are included. With more imaginative stories (like people who can fly, fairies, monsters, talking animals, etc), kids are encouraged to dream big and create their own stories. That being said, children’s books almost always center the protagonist around a kid character so that the kids reading the books are more likely to see themselves in their shoes.

Once they are able to relate to the character or find them entertaining in some way, they also are more likely to learn from the message of the book. Since kids are learning lots of new things every day, books are a great way to teach them morals like ‘good guy’ vs ‘bad guy’ so that they can (hopefully) emulate the good behaviors. Similarly, children’s books purposely almost always end the story with a positive ending. The idea is that if all their stories end with a “happily ever after,” they will be excited about their future. After all, we don’t want little kids to realize that the prince won’t always carry you off into the sunset and that you probably won’t end up surrounded by a pile of gold. Sorry, but that’s life. But kids don’t have to know that, at least not in these kinds of books.

Children’s books also have LOTS of illustrations! Kids love lots of pictures, bright colors, they catch their attention, and it makes it easier for them to understand. Typically, the illustrations take up most of the page because the importance is on the images, and the words are smaller. That being said, it’s a good idea not to include lots of contemplation and abstract ideas since kids have a harder time understanding those kinds of topics- so one has to try to keep it as simple as possible.

I am excited to try and take a new spin on my topic of plastics for this experiment by trying to reach the people who need to know about it the most: kids. From the books that kids read growing up, they learn what different noises animals make, are transported to the new worlds of Dr. Seuss, and reminds us to say goodnight and be grateful for everything they have. So, why shouldn’t kids learn about how plastics are bad through a fun story in an imaginary world?!

For my final genre experiment, I have decided to explore the genre of Children’s Books. As I reflect back on my childhood, bedtime books were my favorite part of the day. Every night my parents would read me my three favorite books and I would fall right asleep. These books consisted of “Franny B. Kranny, There’s a Bird in Your Hair,” “We’re Going on a Bear Hunt,” and “Lilly’s Purple Plastic Purse.” Not only were these stories a huge part of my childhood experience, but my brother and sister both loved the same three books—we still talk about them at family dinners and parties! The reason I have decided to explore the genre of children’s books is because I feel as if my knowledge of the children’s book culture is unfinished! I started my research in high school when I started to create my own book about being Gluten-Free, but it never took off due to the college application process and my involvement in clubs and organizations throughout my high school years! I never really took the time to learn about the background of the this genre and the different aspects of what goes into creating a children’s book. Through this project, I would love to share some of the work I created as a high school student, and expand on it now as a junior in college…four years later. 

            Children’s Books have many different genres within them. As I learned through this source, all of these different genres can compliment a children’s book in their own unique way. Starting with classic picture books, picture story books, and traditional literature—including folktales, fairy tales, fables, legends, myths. Next is historical fiction, modern fantasy, realistic fiction, non-fiction, informational books, biography, poetry and drama! Something that encouraged me to choose the children book genre is that before this experiment, my previous experiment was about the fairytale genre. I realized at the end of this experiment that the idea of a children’s story excited me, but because my origin piece is about a very serious, life-changing moment in my life—I wanted to be more real when discussing my experience, without incorporating a fairy or a villain in my story. Although a children’s story still has a young voice—real information can be portrayed, as I will not be talking in the fairytale language. The genre within the overall genre of children’s books that I hope to explore is Picture Books, which are Children’s books that provide a “visual experience.” I hope to include digital images and illustrations in making my children’s book an online book, as technology is so important today.

          Lastly, as I approach diving into this genre—I wanted to know some facts on what makes a good children’s book. The Write Practice, which is written by a bestselling children’s book author explains what exactly distinguishes a mediocre children’s book and a great children’s book. The following three things really intrigued me and inspired me to start my writing this book. These include— strong characters who evoke strong emotion, a story that teaches, and mind-expanding illustrations, vocabulary or concepts! I am excited to begin my children’s book journey that I never got to finish, and for all of you to experience my gluten-free journey with me! 🙂