Memoir / Personal Essay

WRITE YOUR MEMOIR! HOW TO CREATE YOUR LIFE'S WORK

August 21-22, Chautauqua Park, Boulder, CO

We ARE our stories and our adventures. This workshop, taught by Michelle Theall, will explore every facet of getting your life (or an exciting portion of it) on paper. Whether you seek publication, a written record for your family’s archives, or let’s face it, a great form of therapy, Write Your Memoir! will give you the instruction you need to create your life’s work.

WORKSHOP LEVEL

Open to writers of all levels and backgrounds.

WE PROVIDE A SAFE PLACE

There’s nothing more intimate and perhaps scary than sharing past foibles and successes with a group of people or writing coach who you may not know very well (yet). That said, we’ll provide a safe and cozy environment, lay down some ground rules, and try to ensure a comfortable place for discussion. And, of course, no one will ever be forced to read or talk about their project!

SUBMIT

One month prior to the workshop, you’ll be asked to submit a one-paragraph overview/summary of your memoir, along with a sample first chapter (If you're not that far along, you may choose to submit a personal essay that you would like to expand into a larger work.) This will give your writing coach a starting point to evaluate your project and work with you as an individual. It will also help you start thinking about the scope of your work. Will you write about a particular time period (ie. coming of age, the birth of your first child, a trip to Tibet, a painful divorce, or a first love)? Or, will your work be more comprehensive? If you’re seeking publication or an agent, this exercise will also help you as you begin to craft your book proposal. CLICK HERE FOR THEALL’S SAMPLE FROM TEACHING THE CAT TO SIT.

WORKSHOP CLASSES

Great Writing 101: Whether your writing memoir, personal essay, or a travel article, you’ll want to use these basic rules to perk up your prose (ex. kill those adjectives and adverbs, watch repetition and cliché, use juxtaposition, etc.). Vary sentence structure and pacing. Show more than you tell. We’ll look at specific passages from great writers and dissect them to discover what works and why. Plus, we’ll do a few in-class exercises of our own.

Decisions on Structure: Should you use past tense or present tense or a combination? We’ll look at the advantages and disadvantages of each. Should your story be linear (in chronological order) or jump back and forth through time? What are the differences between sections, chapters, and scenes and how many of each should I have?

Elements of Story: All great stories have a narrative arc and most follow an Act 1, 2, and 3 structure. Even your life story (if you want people to engage with it) will have plot, sub-plot, climax, conflict, and theme. We’ll go over these and then do an exercise where you’ll pick out the critical “scenes” from your life and map out where they should go in your narrative.

The Hook: The first chapter of your book sets up the tone, context, and essential predicament for your story. It also must make a promise to the reader. We’ll take a look at some great beginnings and then work on the first sentence of your book.

Dialogue, Characterization, and Setting: What makes a character (and yes, we do mean you, your mom, aunt betty, or whoever else finds themselves in your memoir) memorable to a reader? Vivid dialogue, unique gestures, and tangible settings allow the reader to connect to your story and the people in it. We’ll cover all three and work on a few in-class exercises relating to your memoir’s people and places.

KEYNOTE ADDRESS: Special guest speaker will talk about her road to publication, answer questions, and read from her current work.

Other things we’ll cover:

How can I write this without hurting or angering my (fill in the name here)?

Can I get sued? Do I have to get permission from everyone included in my manuscript?

Where do I start and end?

How can I land an agent? What does a memoir book proposal look like?

Should I have my therapist on call while I’m writing this thing?

How do I get over writer’s block?

What can I do to keep readers turning pages?

COURSE FEE, DEADLINES, AND LODGING INFORMATION:

Registration is capped at 100 students.

COST: $350 (early bird special, register on or before April 30, 2010) / $425 after

LODGING: Chautauqua Park, where our event will be held, provides a stunning and inspiring background just below the Flatirons mountains. This historic venue has single housing, double, cottages, and shared buildings. Discounted rates are available for registered conference attendees. Or, you may always choose to stay elsewhere in Boulder. All classroom events will be held in the Grand Assembly. If you’d like to contact other attendees about potential roommate situations, see our forum.

FOOD, BEVERAGES: To keep costs down and continue to provide these events, no meals are included in the course fees. Chautauqua dining hall is on site and various other restaurants are within shuttle bus catching distance.

SIGN UP TODAY:

QUESTIONS: Email: michelle@creativeconferences.com

Keep coming back to this page for schedule changes and details. We might throw in a cocktail hour or surprise speaker or two!