Peter Meech | Writers.com https://writers.com/instructor/peter-meech Your voice is a gift. Share it. Thu, 08 Jan 2026 11:25:12 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.8.3 As I Remember It: Write Your Memoir, Scene by Scene https://writers.com/course/as-i-remember-it-write-your-memoir-scene-by-scene Fri, 05 Dec 2025 04:59:48 +0000 https://writers.com/?post_type=product&p=50944 Journey back to the scenes that shaped you, and learn to turn personal memories into a vivid, unforgettable memoir.

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]]> As I Remember It is a memoir writing course for anyone who wants to shape their life stories into something lasting—whether for family, future generations, or publication.

We’ll journey back through the scenes that shaped you—one chapter, one memory, one turning point at a time. Using a storyteller’s toolbox—structure, subtext, and foreshadowing—you’ll learn how to turn personal memories into vivid, unforgettable scenes. Along the way, you’ll explore how to make moments breathe on the page, uncover meaning in ordinary details, and write in a voice that sounds unmistakably like you.

Each week, you will write a short passage inspired by that week’s theme. You’ll read your work aloud in class—or, if you prefer, I’ll read it for you—and you’ll receive gentle, focused feedback from me and your classmates. Feedback is always limited to what we loved, or what we’d love to hear more of.

The foundation of this course is built on connection — to memory, to meaning, and to each other. Every week, we’ll gather as a circle of storytellers, sharing our work and listening with empathy and curiosity. You’ll find that hearing other people’s stories often unlocks your own. Our time together includes live reading moments, group discussions and plenty of laughter. The result is a genuine sense of community—a safe, encouraging space where words slow down and people truly listen.

By the end of the course, you’ll have a strong beginning of a memoir worth passing down through the generations. Most importantly, you’ll have rediscovered the pleasure of remembering, writing, and sharing the stories only you can tell.

Who This Course Is For

This course is for anyone who wants to write about their life—whether you’re just starting out or returning to writing after years away. You don’t need prior writing experience, just curiosity, courage, and a willingness to look back with honesty and humor.

Learning Goals and Writing Goals

Learning Goals

By the end of this course, you will:

  • Discover the techniques of memoir writing, including scene construction, sensory detail, and emotional pacing.
  • Learn how to transform raw memory into story with shape and momentum.
  • Build confidence reading your work aloud and receiving feedback.
  • Develop a deeper understanding of your own history and how it connects to the world around you.
  • Experience the power of community storytelling as both a writer and a listener.

Writing Goals

Over the duration of the course, you will:

  • Complete at least ten short personal narratives (1–2 pages each).
  • Revise and expand a selected piece into a cohesive memoir sequence.
  • Strengthen your authentic voice through weekly practice.
  • Compile a portfolio of stories that reflect your life’s arc and enduring themes.

Zoom Schedule

Beginning February 18th, we will meet each week on Wednesdays from 6-7:30 PM Eastern via Zoom. 

Weekly Syllabus

Week 1: Ancestors and Artifacts

We begin with what lasts: the keepsakes, letters, or heirlooms that carry the weight of memory.

Assignment: Write a 1–2 page piece inspired by a personal artifact or heirloom—something that carries meaning, memory, a dramatic or humorous story.

Week 2: Birth

Revisit your grand entrance into the world. What world you were born into?                      

Assignment: Write a 1–2 page piece inspired by your birth story, or the origin story of your name or nickname.

Week 3: Family

We explore the stories passed down through generations — myths, migrations, and family traditions.

Assignment: Write a 1–2 page scene or vignette capturing a defining family moment.

Week 4: Toys, Games, and Childhood Pastimes

Playtime, pranks, and the small dramas of childhood. What did you make? What did you break? What did you learn? What did you love doing the most?

Assignment: Write a 1–2 page piece inspired by a game or toy that taught you something about life or about yourself.

Week 5: Growing Up — Making Choices

The turbulence of adolescence and the freedom (and folly) of early choices: school, work, love.

Assignment: Write a 1–2 page piece about a moment when you realized you were no longer a child — or a moment when you realized you would always be a child.

Week 6: Adulthood — Assuming Responsibility

Jobs, relationships, family, and the long stretch of “making it work.”

Assignment: Write a 1–2 page piece about a time when you had to shoulder responsibility, willingly or not. Or a time when you rejected responsibility to go your own way.

Week 7: Looking Back — How the World Has Changed

From rotary phones to retina scans, from letters to “likes”. What has changed for the better? Or the worse? What do you miss? What do you not miss? What are you hoping will be invented?

Assignment: Write a 1–2 page piece contrasting a memory from your youth with its modern-day equivalent, or with an imagined sci-fi future.

Week 8: Taking Stock — Accomplishments

Defining success on your own terms. What achievement gives you quiet pride? What did it cost you to get there?

Assignment: Write a 1–2 page piece about an accomplishment that changed how you see yourself, or how others began seeing you.

Week 9: Simplifying Life — Living More Intentionally

What really matters, and what can be let go?

Assignment: Write a 1–2 page reflection on what you’ve chosen to let go, what you’ll never give up and what you still want to acquire – simplifying be damned!

Week 10: Considering Death — Making Plans for the Future

An unflinching but life-affirming look at mortality, legacy, and how we wish to be remembered.

Assignment: Write a 1–2 page letter to someone in the future — a grandchild, a friend, or your younger self.

Week 11: Gifts and Guides

We honor those who lit the path before us — mentors, friends, even strangers.

Assignment: Write a 1–2 page piece about a person who changed your life, and how they did it. Or how you changed someone else’s life and how you did it, by accident or on purpose.

Week 12: Celebration

We close with readings, reflections and a standing ovation for the whole beautiful mess we call  life.

Assignment: Revise one of your favorite pieces from the course and share it in our final celebration. Remember: your story matters — and someone, someday, will be grateful you took the time to tell it.


Click the Enroll Now button below, enter your details on the Checkout page,
and reserve your spot in the course.

Original price was: $795.00.Current price is: $680.00.Enroll Now

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