Do you have stories you want to tell and need help telling them?
Do you have these stories about your life that you want to write but you don’t want to piss anyone off or aren’t ready to admit this things really happened to you? Solution: label them fiction!
Have you been writing fiction forever and want to dig into what it means to use your real life as fodder for your fiction?
Are you mostly a memoir and personal essay writer, and are interested in writing fiction?
No matter where you’re coming from, if the title of this class piqued your interest, there’s a reason for it.
What I love about fiction is that we are free to use all of the materials of our human experience in writing it.
What do I know about writing fiction from real life? My first love is fiction, and I wrote two novels running away from memoir: A Woman’s Cry (Augustus Publishing, 2007) and The Write Play (revising). I’ve also had short stories published that were written using materials from my life, like the flash piece Dollhead, published in SmokeLong Quarterly in 2016.
I know that using my life–the people I’ve known, the experiences I’ve had, the places I’ve been–has given me a wonderful foundation to work with in my stories.
In this class, participants will:
- use personal experiences and observations to craft compelling fiction and characters;
- receive insight into my inspirations and methods, which will help them take away some fresh ideas for their own writing;
- generate material to take with them and hopefully keep working on; and
- build scenes and story starters;
- leave with a toolkit of practical approaches for translating real-life elements into fuel for their fiction.
This is a generative class, meaning you will be writing a lot and generating material to take with you and hopefully keep working on.
In Person Class Information
Dates: March 2nd & 9th
Time: 12pm-5pm
Location: West Village, NYC
Price: $80 for one class, $150 for both (a $30 nonrefundable registration fee is required to reserve your seat)
To register: send an email with “Writing Fiction from Real Life In-Person Class” in the subject line to writingourlivesworkshop@gmail.com. I will respond with further information including payment methods.
Online Class Information
Class available: March 11th
Price: $180 (a $30 nonrefundable registration fee is required to reserve your seat)
What you get:
- Three slideshow presentations, each containing a lesson, model texts and writing exercises
- Three instructional videos to accompany the slideshow presentations
- Model texts
- Craft essays
- Reflective writing assignments
To register: send an email with “Writing Fiction from Real Life Online Class” in the subject line to writingourlivesworkshop@gmail.com. I will respond with further information including payment methods.