Great memoires have a clear objective that is understood by the reader. When I wrote for Miracle Jane Doe, I kept that in mind. `My mother showed that she had a desire to teach readers how to pray when traumatic events are happening to yourself or people you love.
We did that, but I knew it was import to recall and dress the narrative into a story that readers can sink into.
The beginning goes:
"It was a Wednesday night, a normal night. I suspected that she was going to the DMV (DC-Maryland-Virginia) with her boyfriend at the time and a friend of his too. I told her that I wasnt comforatable about her going out that night because I discerned that something was not right. She was a young adult at this time, so the decision was ultimately hers anyway. At the time, she trusted herserlf not to get into bad situations. She must have trusted the two boys as well."
I will give you a snapshot of my thought process in this opening paragraph in chapter 1:
"It was a Wednesday night, a normal night"
I'd change this to "The night seemed normal, but my spirit knew different." Still, I tried to communicate through the text that nothing outwardly suggested that my sister was about to go through something very bad. It was an attempt to set the precedent of the night.
"I told her that I wasn't comfortable about her going out that night because I discerned that something was not right"- It was appropriate to tell this fact and show that danger was possible.
"She was a young adult at this time, so the decision was ultimately hers anyway. At the time, she trusted herself not to get into bad situations. She must have trusted the two boys as well." I'd change this line to something like, "She trusted these strangers, but I didn't. Something was off about them, something deeply careless. There was only so much I could do, but trust God to keep her safe. Unfortunately, that did not happened. " The narrative displays the different mindsets of mother and daughter and hints at the helplessness my mother had that night-a feeling many mothers can relate to.