Shaping Your Life Stores into a Memoir or Personal Essays
Successful writing requires both an engaging narrative comprised of scenes with dialogue, description, characters, action, a setting, and use of the senses, as well as imbedding themes that are universally resonant. In this six week class we will discuss how to mold your nonfiction stories into an arc that transforms your main character(s) from the beginning to the end – whether you are writing a full-length memoir or personal essays. To maintain a reader’s interest all stories must answer not only the “where, what, who, and when” of the event(s) but most importantly address the “why.” Why you are writing this story? Why will reading your prose matter to others? The sessions will focus on lecture, discussion, and opportunities for participants to read their writing with instructor and peer feedback.