Class Description
The first draft of a memoir tends to simply put memories into words—you remember it, you write it down. Subsequent drafts become more focused on the story you are telling and its narrative structure. This workshop, designed for people who have already started writing autobiographical material but want direction, will help you hone your work. We’ll look at excerpts from writers including Richard Hoffman, Maya Angelou, and Joan Didion with a particular eye on structure. Craft lectures and discussions will focus on elements of memoir, including finding a compelling and consistent narrative voice, choosing a storyline, and editing your work. You will have a chance to bring in your writing to be workshopped, and you'll leave with a plan to edit what you've written and a process for generating new work that builds on what you've already created.
Thanks to the excellent literary citizenship of our donors, scholarships are available for all GrubStreet classes. To apply, click the gray "APPLY FOR SCHOLARSHIP" button. In order to be considered for a scholarship, you must complete your application at least one week before the start date of a class. Please await our scholarship committee's decision before registering for the class. We cannot hold spots in classes, so the sooner you apply, the better. Scholarships cannot be applied retroactively.
For more detailed information about GrubStreet scholarships, including how to contribute to scholarship funds for other students, click here.
This class will take place using Zoom videoconferencing. After registering, a yellow Resources tab will appear in this section containing a link to join class. Please note that you will need to be logged into view the Resources tab.
Zoom Participation:
In our experience, the intimate nature of a writing workshop benefits from on-camera participation. Students are of course welcome to turn their camera off whenever they need to, but it is a community norm for cameras to be on most of the time. You can learn more about using Zoom here.
Zoom Accessibility:
You can enable closed captioning at any time during the meeting by clicking the CC button at the bottom of the screen. If you'd like to access the transcript after class, please make sure to let your instructor ahead of time that you'd like a copy.