MEMOIR WORKSHOP with Neva Knott

$375.00

Memoir. More than the personal essay, different than the autobiography. At its core, memoir is the true story of one specific aspect of the writer’s life and is often written as a way to understand the power and place that one aspect holds in one’s life. In this course, we will explore the structure and craft of memoir while actively developing a memoir draft.

Through workshopping participant’s drafts, we will:

  • Consider the what, when, where, why, and how of the topic, what to put in and what to leave out.

  • Identify the key scenes of the topic.

  • Develop a logical order for the memoir.

  • Consider appeals to the reader and turn the details of the event into an engaging story.

  • Learn and deploy elements of craft such as scene, summary, dialoge; use of descriptive details to drive the story forward; focus and point of view; voice and word choice.

  • Understand the role of researching one’s life in writing a memoir.

Expect to leave this class with revision feedback to apply to the whole of your memoir, a sense of the scope and focus, and an improved memoir draft with a more engaging story.

Memoir. More than the personal essay, different than the autobiography. At its core, memoir is the true story of one specific aspect of the writer’s life and is often written as a way to understand the power and place that one aspect holds in one’s life. In this course, we will explore the structure and craft of memoir while actively developing a memoir draft.

Through workshopping participant’s drafts, we will:

  • Consider the what, when, where, why, and how of the topic, what to put in and what to leave out.

  • Identify the key scenes of the topic.

  • Develop a logical order for the memoir.

  • Consider appeals to the reader and turn the details of the event into an engaging story.

  • Learn and deploy elements of craft such as scene, summary, dialoge; use of descriptive details to drive the story forward; focus and point of view; voice and word choice.

  • Understand the role of researching one’s life in writing a memoir.

Expect to leave this class with revision feedback to apply to the whole of your memoir, a sense of the scope and focus, and an improved memoir draft with a more engaging story.