Let’s build a roadmap for sharing your story.  

Do you have an idea you want to explore in writing, or an experience you’d like to capture on the page, but aren’t sure where to begin? Does the prospect of writing about yourself, or people you know, give you pause? Are you accustomed to academic or business nonfiction, but want to learn to take a more creative approach? Have you ever read an essay that changed your life, and thought, “I want to do that, but how?”

How to Write a Personal Essay will cover all the fundamentals of essay writing, and will set you up with everything you need to know to start writing about your ideas and experiences with confidence and creativity. We’ll cover the fundamentals of what makes for a great personal essay, the many shapes personal essays can take, ethical methods for writing about real life and real people, and what the publication process is like. You’ll have a chance to connect with other aspiring essayists, develop and share your essay “elevator pitch” with the group, and leave with a set of individualized questions to further prompt your writing.

Click here to find out more. Note: All times listed are in Eastern Time.

Are you looking to get your name out there and build platform for your memoir? Are you interested in turning chapters and scenes into standalone pieces, but don’t know where to start? Do you need guidance on how to revise and submit essays adapted from your memoir? This intensive is for you! Taking place over the course of a single weekend, this virtual intensive gives you the structure, inspiration, and craft tools you need to write and publish essays adapted from your memoir. Through a combination of in-class writing prompts and craft lessons, you will leave with a roadmap for writing, revising, and submitting essays inspired by your memoir.

Click here to find out more.

Most memoir manuscripts have the same five craft issues. Learn what they are and how to avoid them.

Of course your memoir has unique craft challenges. And yet, most developmental editors – myself included – will tell you that common, identifiable and fixable issues arise in memoirs, again and again. Although most writers can sense when something in the manuscript is falling flat, or we know in our hearts “it’s just not ready yet,” we’re so close to the material that it’s difficult to identify which areas need improvement. 

In this 2-day seminar (January 4 & 11), we’ll discuss the most common issues in memoir manuscripts and strategies for addressing them in our own work. You’ll learn a toolbox of revision strategies to apply to your manuscript immediately, including distinguishing “story” versus “situation,” evaluating the use of scene versus summary, and sharpening your opening and closing pages. You will leave the workshop with a more critical editorial lens, a toolbox of revision techniques, and a roadmap for making your memoir agent-ready.

In this seminar you’ll:

• LEARN the five most common issues in memoir manuscripts and how to avoid them.

• DEVELOP a more critical editorial lens toward your work. 

• ASSESS your manuscript for craft issues that might make agents stop reading.

• BUILD a toolbox of revision strategies for making your memoir agent-ready–and improving all your future writing. 

By the end of these two days, you’ll be equipped with a deep understanding of how scenes work, how to sequence scenes to create a dramatic story, and how and when to use summary and reflection to create memorable and meaningful narratives.

This seminar is ideal for…

• Writers looking to understand and apply essential revision strategies

• Writers ready to revise their memoir manuscript with a critical, editorial lens.

• Those who sense areas in their work that need improvement but aren’t sure how to address them.

• Writers who’ve written most or all of a memoir draft and are looking to revise and pitch agents.

Closed captioning is available and all registrants receive the recording

Click here to find out more. Note: All times listed are in Eastern Time.