Nosense ofplaceBlameothersDon't haveacaptivatingplotNo charactertransformationHavenothing toteachreaderNopsychicsAssume yourreaderknows localeWriteas thevictimHave anunwieldlystoryTell,don'tshowmake yourcharacterunsympatheticEmbellishthe truthDon'thave athemeDon'thave anincitingincidentDumpback storyin chunksMakeyour focusBROADDon'thavestory arcNothemeExhibit noself-awarenessUse lots ofautobiographicaldataTry tosound"writerly"Write alongtimeframeUseclichesUsepassivevoiceNosense ofplaceBlameothersDon't haveacaptivatingplotNo charactertransformationHavenothing toteachreaderNopsychicsAssume yourreaderknows localeWriteas thevictimHave anunwieldlystoryTell,don'tshowmake yourcharacterunsympatheticEmbellishthe truthDon'thave athemeDon'thave anincitingincidentDumpback storyin chunksMakeyour focusBROADDon'thavestory arcNothemeExhibit noself-awarenessUse lots ofautobiographicaldataTry tosound"writerly"Write alongtimeframeUseclichesUsepassivevoice

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.


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