Writeas thevictimNopsychicsDon'thavestory arcDon'thave anincitingincidentBlameothersDon'thave athemeWrite alongtimeframeDon't haveacaptivatingplotmake yourcharacterunsympatheticMakeyour focusBROADUseclichesUse lots ofautobiographicaldataUsepassivevoiceTell,don'tshowHave anunwieldlystoryHavenothing toteachreaderExhibit noself-awarenessDumpback storyin chunksTry tosound"writerly"No charactertransformationNothemeEmbellishthe truthAssume yourreaderknows localeNosense ofplaceWriteas thevictimNopsychicsDon'thavestory arcDon'thave anincitingincidentBlameothersDon'thave athemeWrite alongtimeframeDon't haveacaptivatingplotmake yourcharacterunsympatheticMakeyour focusBROADUseclichesUse lots ofautobiographicaldataUsepassivevoiceTell,don'tshowHave anunwieldlystoryHavenothing toteachreaderExhibit noself-awarenessDumpback storyin chunksTry tosound"writerly"No charactertransformationNothemeEmbellishthe truthAssume yourreaderknows localeNosense ofplace

Carol's How to write a bad memoir - Call List

(Print) Use this randomly generated list as your call list when playing the game. There is no need to say the BINGO column name. Place some kind of mark (like an X, a checkmark, a dot, tally mark, etc) on each cell as you announce it, to keep track. You can also cut out each item, place them in a bag and pull words from the bag.


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  1. Write as the victim
  2. No psychics
  3. Don't have story arc
  4. Don't have an inciting incident
  5. Blame others
  6. Don't have a theme
  7. Write a long timeframe
  8. Don't have a captivating plot
  9. make your character unsympathetic
  10. Make your focus BROAD
  11. Use cliches
  12. Use lots of autobiographical data
  13. Use passive voice
  14. Tell, don't show
  15. Have an unwieldly story
  16. Have nothing to teach reader
  17. Exhibit no self-awareness
  18. Dump back story in chunks
  19. Try to sound "writerly"
  20. No character transformation
  21. No theme
  22. Embellish the truth
  23. Assume your reader knows locale
  24. No sense of place