While we wrack our brains for what to write about, our most compelling stories often lie close by, waiting to be discovered. How to we find these stories and bring them to life on the page? In this class we’ll use a mix of guided exercises, discussion, and workshop to sharpen our powers of observation, uncover stories we’ve overlooked, and dig into the mystery of stories we think we understand. Masterful essays and passages from published memoirs will provide us with inspiration and insight.

We’ll study how published authors play with structure, perspective, and time, and absorb some of these techniques for use in our own work. We’ll also share our writing with an eye toward helping each other build on strengths and take new risks. Whether you are just starting to write or halfway into your memoir, this workshop will give you the chance to explore unseen possibilities in the stories you most want to tell.