(AC Fall 2023) Memoir Writing Level Two: Intermediate with Marja Mills

This course about writing memoir and other personal or family stories is designed for people who took one of Marja Mills’s earlier workshops on the topic.  It’s also suitable for writers who don’t feel the need for the more basic memoir course. 

Memoir writing comes with big challenges and rewards and we’ll delve into both.  Always, the focus is on writing with clarity, substance and style, and putting the stories you tell in context.  We’ll build on lessons from the previous workshops, including ways to sharpen your description of people and places, to organize your material, and to express the emotional truths and personal observations that help give your work meaning. We’ll discuss the nature of memory and ways to put your story into the world, if you want,  through a traditional publisher or self-publishing.  Half of each class is devoted to going over short, voluntary homework, usually a couple of paragraphs, with the instructor and classmates offering constructive comments.