CURRENT AND UPCOMING CLASSES

Plot isn't the only way to create narrative momentum in memoir. Sometimes the most interesting thing about a personal narrative isn't what happened, and then what happened next, and then what happened next—but what we have to say about what happened, and how our perspective on a formative experience can shift and change over time. How the very process of writing about our lives—and the research and inquiry often required to do so—can change our relationship to the thing we're writing about. Sometimes that change is the story.

In this short seminar, two authors who have published memoirs about addiction will walk writers through some of the pitfalls of addiction narratives (and how to avoid them) and offer exercises and tips to write an addiction story that honors the complexity of the topic, centering compassion without shying away from ugliness.

You’ve written a personal essay, you’ve revised it, maybe even had a friend read it and give you feedback, but it’s still not quite up to snuff. You know it could be a great piece, but something isn’t quite clicking. Now what?

Editors always say they’re looking for new, fresh, exciting, surprising angles for personal essays. They want to see something they haven’t seen before, to approach universal topics in brand new ways. But what does that even mean, and how are you supposed to know what they have and haven’t seen before? This independent study will teach you a few strategies for finding that fresh angle, digging into your unique perspective to find new ways into stories that only you can write.

This independent study will guide you through a three-step process to write an outline. If you’re still in the drafting and revision stage, the outline you’ll put together here will help you see your structure clearly so you can rework and hone it. And then when you’re done revising (or if you’ve come to this independent study with an already finished and polished manuscript), you can also use this outline for your book proposal.