Use the multimodal narrative as an opportunity to teach invention strategies. 

Students need to learn ways to get away from the “easy” stories to tell (like the car wreck stories), and a focus on invention strategies can facilitate that process. Interestingly, it was listening to my grandfather’s stories that shaped both of my projects.  His interviews were my “free write,” and I used his stories to focus my compositions. Once I edited his interviews down, I approached my other family members for their own stories.  I also went to my other family members with more specifics about the kind of information I wanted them to give me than I had my grandfather, but I allowed them to tell the stories they felt were important.  As a result their interviews were much shorter and required much less editing time.  For both projects, my composition was not shaped and my own narration was not added until I had heard what my grandfather had to say. This seems to reflect the importance I have placed on my grandfather as the possessor of the cultural narratives in our family.  I allowed him to set the tone for my projects, and then I shaped the projects in a way that would best connect with the audience. 

Possibly the most useful lesson to take from this is to encourage your students to listen to what is available around them.  Instead of beginning with a prompt which asks them to tell of a significant experience in their lives, encourage them to think more broadly about the experiences that have shaped their lives.  Offer them creative alternatives to the traditional free write.  A colleague of mine uses a literacy collage assignment she adapted from Peter Elbow which works well both as an invention strategy and as a multimodal assignment in its own right. Invention strategies often take more time than a standard writing prompt, but the resulting composition will be more rewarding for both you and the student composer.