2010: this is the year you write your memoir

Will 2010 be the year you write your memoir? Yes — if you take “This is the Year You Write Your Memoir” , an extended 12-session
course (3 day-long workshops; 9 3-hour evening
classes) and if you’re ready to put in the reading and writing time outside of class;
probably the equivalent of 45 minutes to an hour daily, or to allot one day a week as memoir day.

“This is the Year You Write Your Memoir” will run from late May through October. We’ll each complete a first-draft memoir in this time,
beginning with our first full-day class where we’ll look at the genre itself and begin to discover which of our several stories we feel most compelled to tell, why, and how. We’ll work together individually and as a group, in class and at home. There will be elements of my own dragon-style critique/discussions of our work as we progress. My approach is unique, using the best of several modes out there (see “If You’ve Taken Other Writing Workshops).

As the months go on, we will be emailing drafts of chapters back and forth amongst each other so we can read up in advance and discuss what we are reading.

Due to the nature of the course, the genre, and the time we’ll spend together, there’s an intimacy that will no doubt develop among our members. Think of it as creative, psychological, and perhaps spiritual adventure travel. Please be sure that you’re ready to give it what it takes before you sign up. I’ve mentioned time. Please ask yourself, also, if you’re emotionally resilient — both because work will be discussed honestly (always in a respectful, adult-to-adult manner) and because some of the material of all our lives is inevitably difficult. Though most find working with memoir “healing”, this is not a therapy group.

You don’t have to take
“Building A Writing Practice” or Fearless Writing beforehand, but both are good preparation.

Here are the dates:

Sunday, May 23, 2010, 11:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. First Class (first full day workshop)

Wednesday, June 2, 2010: 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. Second Class (evening)

Wednesday, June 16, 2010: 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. Third Class (evening)

Sunday, June 27, 11:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Fourth Class (second full day workshop)

Wednesday, July 7, 2010: 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. Fifth Class (evening)

Wednesday, July 21, 2010: 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. Sixth Class (evening)

Wednesday, August 4, 2010: 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. Seventh Class (evening)

Sunday, August 22, 11:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Eighth Class (third full day workshop)

Wednesday,September 15, 2010: 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. Ninth Class (evening)

Wednesday, September 29, 2010: 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. Tenth Class (evening)