Memoir II: Honing the Memoir with Julia Scheeres (9/27 – 11/1)

Instructor: Julia Scheeres

Contact: juliascheeres@gmail.com

Number of sessions: 6

Meeting time: Thursdays 6:00-8:30

Dates: Sept. 20 – Oct 25

Course fee: $395, $100 deposit

To register, contact the instructor. All deposits are non-refundable.

Description: You know the story you want to tell: you’ve got it all worked out in your head, or even on paper. But now you need to shape that raw material into a publishable work by honing the theme, figuring out where to break the narrative into scene, where to summarize, and where to reflect. This class will help you deepen your character arc, craft memorable scenes and get to the center of your story. We’ll discuss how much recreation is “allowed” in memoir, how to strike the right emotional tone, and learn the best route to getting published. This class focuses on writing and revising; every week we’ll workshop student pieces, and we’ll use Mary Karr’s “Liar’s Club” as our model text.

Instructor Bio: Julia Scheeres is the author of the New York Times bestselling memoir “Jesus Land.” Her second book, “A Thousand Lives: the Untold Story of Hope, Deception, and Survival at Jonestown,” was named the Best Nonfiction Book of 2012 by the Northern California Bookseller’s Association. She’s published creative nonfiction in the New York Times,Wired, The San Francisco Chronicle, and many other venues, and taught in San Jose State University’s MFA program, among other places. She is a frequent contributor to the New York Times Book Review.
 
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