Give us a scene that you remember from when you first arrived in Miami. If you settled in Miami, describe where you (and/or your family) settled: address, physical description of the place where you lived, neighbors, landscape, streets. Give sounds, colors, names of places and people. How old were you? What was the year? The season? The weather? Give us a specific account of one moment in your life then and your impressions of the place. Include dialogue, setting, gestures.
- setting/ location
- time of day,
- year,
- season,
- gestures (people sit, stand, move),
- dialogue (one line per speaker, tags;he/she said;)
NOTE: Use past or present tense but be consistent.
Which one is a scene? A or B? Remember that your stories need to be on scene. Create a movie in the mind of the reader, moment to moment.
- I remember when my sister announced she was getting married. It was New Year’s Eve in 2004. She was very young and our family was concerned. My mother cried and my father got upset.
- My sister Katya walked into the kitchen, where we’d gathered – Mom, Dad, Tio Alberto and his second wife– to bring in the New Year. Mom had handed out the champagne glasses. Katya said, “I’m getting married.” It was 2004. She was sixteen. Tio Alberto, who was already drunk, raised his empty champagne glass to her. Dad held his close to his chest. “Sure, my love,” he said. “You’re getting married. Someday.”
