Memoirs and More: The Art of Writing About Life

This class teaches the skills necessary to write a personal memoir. A goal of the class is to clarify the distinctions that apply to memoir writing specifically: finding a thematic mode (narrowing the scope), establishing a personal writing voice, establishing setting (time and place), and determining the writer’s point of view and tense preferences. These distinctions separate memoir writing from autobiography and other forms of creative writing. A bonus is that the skills taught in the class easily transfer to other forms of personal writing.
 
Students will be given instruction (with handouts) and will also write for twenty minutes each time, after which they can volunteer to share their working drafts and garner feedback from me and the class. They can also just listen and participate in the discussion, gaining insight that way.
 
The class has traditional instruction, but is also interactive and experiential. It is personalized to each student. Students can submit three-five pages of memoir to me weekly for feedback and encouragement.

Please bring a computer or journal to class for written exercises.