Writing Your Story: Memoir and Personal Essay

Instructor: Deirdre Lewis

Instructor’s Substack

Max: 15 Students

February 22, 2025 2-6

(Please arrive 20 minutes early. Parking is ample and easy. )

This is a writing class designed to help you get your story onto the page using the simplest, clearest and most truthful voice possible: yours! Working with different writing exercises, styles, and prompts we will hone in on what makes your voice unique and essential in writing personal memoir and essays. Before we meet on February 22, I will send out an email with reading samples of various styles of well known essay writers so we will all have the same point of reference when we begin. Below is a brief outline of the day. For a more thorough explanation of the kinds of work we will be doing, you can read my One-Day Syllabus, which I will send along with PDFs of writing samples. Please check out my work on Substack as well. Hope to see you on the 22nd.

THE WORKSHOP WILL INCLUDE: 

I. INTRODUCTIONS (~ 30 min.)

Introductions and a brief outline of today’s class. What is the difference between memoir and personal essay?  Reliable vs unreliable narrators, narrative description and vignette-style storytelling, journalistic and poetic prose. Relaxation exercise to warm up.

II. Prompts for Vignette and List style of Essay  (60 minutes)

Each writer will choose 3 different prompts randomly and write in the styles we have framed for 15 minutes each. Volunteers will read from their work.

—- BREAK —- (~20 min.)

III. Prompts for Unreliable and Reliable Narrator and Descriptive Narratives (60 minutes)

Each writer will choose 3 different prompts and write for 15 minutes each in the style framed. In between each prompt volunteers will read from their work.

—--BREAK —- (15 min.)

IV. Class prompts (40 minutes)

In this section, the whole class will work on the same 5 prompts: one essay divided into 5 parts, a paragraph for each part. Volunteers will read from their work.

V. Closing Thoughts and Overview

“Outro-ductions” where we discuss our thoughts, experiences and plan for a writing commitment.

MATERIALS TO BRING:

-Computer or Notebook

If you need to cancel, please do so at least 3 days before the workshop.