When: January 27th, 12pm-5pm (NEW DATE)

Why: Because I believe in paying it forward.

Because while the studies and the statistics and the numbers play their part, they do not give face to people and meaning to their struggles. Story does. Your story. Let me give you some tools to help you write yours.

Because I created this class for us: people who come from where I come from and look like me, and often these are marginalized folks who are just making ends meet. This is my gift to you. This is me telling you that your story deserves to be out in the world too.

What: In this workshop I will provide an overview of the tools that are necessary to writing a personal narrative. My approach is to focus on the micro (the short personal essay) because you can take this into the writing of a longer piece, i.e. a memoir. In this class we will discuss craft, character and scene development, sensory writing, digging into memory, etc.

Upcoming Writing Our Lives Classes (click on title for more information): 

* Introduction to the Personal Essay – online class begins on January 31st
* The Narcissist’s Guide to the Personal Essay – in-person class begins on January 27th

About the facilitator: Vanessa Mártir is a NYC based writer, educator and mama. She is currently completing her memoir, A Dim Capacity for Wings, and chronicles the journey at vanessamartir.blog. A five-time VONA/Voices and two-time Tin House fellow, Vanessa’s work has appeared in The Butter, Smokelong Quarterly, Kweli Journal, As/Us Journal and the VONA/Voices Anthology, Dismantle, among others. She has essays forthcoming in Not That Bad, edited by Roxane Gay, and Connections: An Integrated Reader and Rhetoric for College Writing, edited by Kerry Beckford and Donald Jones. Vanessa is the founder of the #52essays2017 challenge, and creator of the Writing Our Lives Workshop, which she teaches in NYC and online. When she’s not writing, you can find her either on the dance floor, in a gym punching a bag or in the woods hugging a tree. Find out more about her relentless hustle on vanessamartir.com.