What comes to mind when you hear the
word module?
When my husband and I worked on the
mission field, we collected modules
to use in speaking engagements when we returned home.
On the field, we kept our ears alert
for coworkers’ stories that would serve as a cultural module, an IIWIA
(Is it worth it all?) module, a spiritual need module, or an end
result module.
Modules are short accounts (in
contrast to stand-alone stories that have a beginning, a plot, and a
conclusion) that, combined with other information,
comprise a complete story.
In other words, a module is part of a story.
I hadn’t thought about using modules in memoirs until last year when I taught the memoir class
at New Tribes Mission’s training center in southern Missouri.
I had been stressing the importance of intriguing
beginnings and strong, satisfying conclusions when a missionary asked if her
memoir could include a paper on name-giving traditions practiced by the African
group she worked with.
She was puzzled because she recognized
her naming paper was not a story—it
had no beginning, plot, or conclusion.
At the same moment, I recognized she
was talking about a module. It was a
Eureka! moment for me.
“Yes!” I told her. “Yes, you’re talking
about a module—a rich cultural module. Use it!”
Yes, modules work in memoir. Include them in your vignettes, especially
if you have written several about the same incident or timeframe or locale.
Here’s an excerpt from a cultural module about a trip my
husband, Dave, took with a fellow missionary, Peter, to a remote indigenous
tribe in South America. (I changed names for security reasons.)
The ABC people’s culture is laced with
taboos to separate them from the outside world. They dwell in scattered mountain
villages and only rarely venture outside to buy salt, machetes, or cloth.
When an ABC man returns from the
outside, he and the articles he brings are considered contaminated and must go
through the witch doctor’s purification ceremony, lasting four days or longer.
Especially taboo is paper, so much so
that the ABCs believe it cannot be purified, so paper is banned completely.…
An ABC can be purified, but an outsider
is always an outsider—and always impure—so when Dave and Peter called on ABC
families, they spread a banana leaf over the bench to preserve its purity. When
the visit ended, they took with them their contaminated banana leaf.
Similarly, the ABCs scurried for
trusted banana leaves to cup candies Dave offered them in payment for photos he
snapped. The leaves protected the people from contamination until the
witchdoctor worked his cleansing magic.…
Note that this account has no plot; it isn’t a story. It is a module that enriches the story of Dave’s visit to the ABC
village.
The module helps readers understand the
setting and the conditions.
It helps them feel the vibes.
It helps readers experience
Dave’s trip with him.
There are many kinds of cultural modules.
Think about family cultures. Each family has its own traditions, manner of speaking,
table manners, assumptions, and expectations—and taboo topics for discussion.
Think about city or neighborhood cultures. If you are from Seattle, you
instinctively know the difference between living in Medina (where Bill Gates lives) and Forks (the setting for the Twilight series), but your readers—grandkids, great-grandkids—might not understand the nuances
the way you do. A cultural module
could make all the difference in helping your readers live your story with you
and grasp your deeper message.
Here’s a historical module:
Land sold for thirteen dollars per acre
in his hometown. You could buy a dozen eggs for twenty-seven cents, a loaf of
bread went for nine cents, milk was twenty-two cents a quart, delivered to your
door. And you could buy a ready-to-wear man’s tailored suit for fifteen
dollars.…
Woodrow Wilson had just completed his
first term as the twenty-eighth president of the United States.… The year was
1917, and William Cameron Townsend was twenty-one.
Had he been interested … Cameron
Townsend could have heard for the first time in history, jazz music on
phonographs. (from A Thousand Trails:
Personal Journal of William Cameron
Townsend, Founder of Wycliffe Bible Translators, compiled and edited by
Hugh Steven.)
Look for ways to include brief modules
in your memoir’s vignettes.
Take a few days to think about the
possibilities. Look for a cultural module, an IIWIA
(Is it worth it all?) module, a spiritual need module, an end
result module, or a historical
module. (I haven’t included examples of IIWIA,
spiritual need, or end result modules
but if you’d like more info, leave a comment below.)
Can you think of other types of
modules?
Modules add texture and zing
and flavor
and richness
and depth
and pizzazz—and
isn’t that what we all enjoy in stories?
