Refining Your Memoir’s Arc

Description

7 Thursdays 10-12 EST (1/23, 1/30, 2/6, 2/13, off, 2/27, 3/6, 3/13)

 

What makes a memoir wonderful isn’t necessarily the events described, but rather the way in which the writer is able to bring readers along though the process of discovery and growth that living and writing both require. Often it is not the exceptional lives but the ordinary, common struggles that make for the most moving stories–but making your story stand out requires some careful thinking about framing, focus, and structure.

 

In this workshop we’ll work together on considering ways to narrow and focus a life’s story. Is yours an “occupational memoir”? A “memoir in essays”? A “book-length-essay”? A classical hero’s journey of a journey–either literal or figurative? One of my favorite things about memoir is how the events can become to the writers’ voice and vision, inviting readers an opportunity to visit a world unlike any they may encounter in their own lives. 

 

What to expect:

• Assigned excerpts from published memoirs
• Close reading of opening pages to understand how writers set reader expectations 
• Feedback from peers and instructor on both outlines an drafts

 

Who this workshop is for:

• Anyone who wants to tell his or her life story but isn’t sure where to start
• Anyone who has started to work on a memoir but is not sure how much or what to include 
• A supportive community of other memoir writers from all walks of life 

 

Level: All Levels

WHERE:
Online via ZOOM

(link will be sent the week of 1st class)