Go Ahead, Write about Your Parents:
Memoir/Personal Essay Workshop
Date: Saturday, March 24
Time: 10 am - 3 pm (with one-hour lunch break)
Instructor: Rachel Sarah
Ages: Adult
Maximum Enrollment: 9
Genre: Nonfiction
Price: $150
The world is hungrier than ever to read honest, meaningful stories. This one-day workshop will help you find your story and get it down on the page, including defining your "hook" and outlining an arc that's both evocative and universal.
We'll get inspired by reading some modern-day essayists, such as Roxane Gay, who writes about the process of exposing oneself honestly, and Ursula K. Le Guin, who said that when "women offer our experience as our truth, as human truth, all the maps change."
How do you write authentically about the most personal--say, your parents, your partner, your children, your ex--without hurting anyone? (One of my first writing teachers, author Sue Shapiro says, "The first piece you write that your family hates means you’ve found your voice.").
How much is your story to tell, and how much is theirs? We'll do plenty of writing to figure this out, using a series of inspiring prompts that will help you dig deep. Together, in a nurturing and fun environment, we'll grasp the meaning of your experience behind your story. This class welcomes nonfiction writers of all backgrounds and skill levels.
Rachel Sarah Rachel Sarah is the author of Single Mom Seeking, an "edgy, honest exposé of single parenthood," optioned by 20th Century Fox for a TV series. Her most recent personal essays have appeared in The Washington Post, The New York Times, and Good Housekeeping. She's one of the founding editors of Literary Mama and she reviews books for Barnes and Noble.
More about Rachel: www.rachelsarah.com