You will learn about the strengths of your writing and receive detailed instruction on further development through weekly constructive, in-depth instructor and student feedback. We’ll look at a range of personal essays by critically acclaimed authors and discuss the literary techniques that make them successful. By the end of the course, you will have discovered how to access the power and strength of your essay writing skills and give voice to your unique perspective(s) on life and other matters. Included are strategies on how to become your own best editor.

Margo had great feedback, and all her responses to students’ writing were thorough, positive, and extremely helpful. She was encouraging and kind during all interactions, and all her comments were very meaningful.
—Rebecca Schechter

Learning Objectives for Students

– To understand and be familiar with personal essay writing as a process

– To critique writing (one’s own and that of others)

– To develop an authentic, individual voice

– To understand basic elements of successful personal essays

– To apply the tools of the workshop in editing and revision

– To cultivate and explore ideas in personal essays with greater assurance and precision

Instructional Methods

The course will be taught through instruction on craft, the examination of a range of personal essays, class discussion, weekly writing assignments, and critique of student manuscripts.

The post Let’s Get Personal: The Art and Craft of the Personal Essay appeared first on Writers.com.

At the end of the course, you will have examined a range of personal narratives in the long- and short-forms of book-length memoirs, personal essays, autobiographical novels and short stories. You will also have a deep understanding of the essential elements of craft, including plot structure, conflict and transformation, sensory imagery, characterization and character motivation, dialogue, “real” vs. “story” time, voice, and point of view. Poetic forms will also be explored as a way to create personal narratives. Students will learn techniques to awaken the creative muse, write with emotional honesty, discover the “authentic” vs. “cultivated” voice, dramatically reconstruct true events, characters, and dialogue, and take creative risks to enhance and further the story. Included are techniques on how to become closely attuned to what makes you write the best you can, how to become your own best editor and discussion about the ethics of writing about people one knows and doesn’t know.

This was an excellent class and one that gave me a weekly opportunity to flesh out ideas and get real-time responses. Margo is knowledgeable and compassionate, with a keen eye for strengths and areas of growth.
—Tom Lorio

Course Purpose

To bring all students, at whatever level, to a higher level of skill and confidence in their writing, through instruction, discussion, exploration of craft and writing process, critical reading of student and published texts, and weekly writing exercises.

Learning objectives for students

• To understand and become familiar with writing as a process
• To critique writing (one’s own and that of others)
• To develop an authentic, individual voice
• To understand basic elements of “good writing”
• To apply the tools of the workshop in editing and revision
• To cultivate and explore ideas on paper with greater assurance and precision

Recommended (not required) text:

Patricia Hampl’s I Could Tell You Stories

Recommended Authors:

Jamaica Kincaid, Mira Bartok, Nawal El Saadawi, John Cheever, Aleksander Hemon, Claudia Rankine, Ta-Nehisi Coates, Kate Braverman, Patrick Modiano, Tony Hoagland, Sherman Alexie, Valerie Mejer Caso

Course Outline

Writing assignments, student critiques, and discussion of craft and texts are included every week.

The post In Your Own Words: Transforming Life Into Memoir and Fiction appeared first on Writers.com.

You will explore the fertile material that springs from your imagination, and learn how to transform it into short-form fiction and memoir. Along the way, you will become aware of the current strengths of your writing, and receive concrete suggestions on further crafting your work toward publication. You will also explore, in depth, your own unique creative process to guide you to a profound understanding of what constitutes compelling “story,” whatever its form.

We will work through weekly instruction, in-class and at-home writing assignments, and instructor feedback on your work. This course is student-centered: writing assignments will be tailored to you, individually based on your own interests and needs as a writer. Please bring to each session the questions and concerns emerging from your own writing.

Topics of Discussion

The eight weekly sessions will include explorations of the following topics:

• How is your story(ies) best told: fiction or memoir?
• Creative Process: an exploration of different techniques and strategies to be who you are in your writing.
• Voice: What is your narrative “personality”? What makes your writing most authentic to your own individual sensibility and aesthetic?
• Point of view: Is it I or You or She, He, They, or We?
• Walking the Tightrope: How to balance imagery and exposition.
• Character: How to develop an awareness and seamlessly portray the breadth and depth of your character(s).
• Talk or Not: How to develop an inner ear to what works regarding dialogue.
• The Where and When: An exploration of how time and place provide context, reflection and “grounding.”
• Fast, Slow or In-Between: How to speed up, slow down, and mirror “real” time.
• Doors and Windows: Techniques for your most kapow! beginnings and endings.

Learning Objectives for Students

In this course, you will:

• Gain understanding and familiarity with the storytelling process in fiction and memoir writing.
• Develop an authentic, individual voice (or voices).
• Play with short-form fiction and memoir to “find your story glory.”
• Assert your own individual skills and talents as a writer, as opposed to trying to reach a mythical “right” way to tell a story.
• Become aware of and practice techniques and strategies that help you create your best work.
• Become attuned to your literary intuition, and develop tools to become your own best editor.
• Create a body of work, or further develop works-in-process.

Weekly Workshop Schedule

We will meet on Wednesdays from 4-6 P.M. Pacific Time.

5 minutes: Check-in/grounding written activity.

45 minutes: Weekly lecture and discussion, with reading recommendations.

15 minutes: Writing session from prompt, and private chat with instructor as needed/requested.

45 minutes: Share writing (either from in-class writing session or from the prior week’s writing assignment); instructor feedback, with suggestions for further development and reading recommendations.

10 minutes: Tailored writing assignments given for the coming week.

The post Craft Your Story: Short Fiction and Memoir Live Workshops appeared first on Writers.com.