(AC Spring 2021) Writing True Stories with Marja Mills

True stories, compellingly told, have a distinctive power. They can take the form of memoir, personal essay, literary journalism or other types of non-fiction. They impart not only facts but insight and emotional truths. Often, they combine rigorous research with a novelist’s language and sensibilities. 

Join memoirist Marja Mills for an exploration of how to write this kind of nonfiction with clarity, style, and substance. Course participants willl read and discuss passages from a range of narrative nonfiction and occasionally do short writing exercises. We’ll discuss any work that participants have underway or are contemplating and tailor the course to the group’s interests and delve into how to research and organize material and write and revise. During the course we'll also consider key elements of nonfiction storytelling, including character and place, structure and pace, quotations and telling details and, always, context and meaning. Registration for this course is limited to twelve participants.