Personal Story: Short Memoirs from Start to Finish

Your life has stories worth telling. This is where you learn to tell them.

Students write one complete memoir or personal essay from planning through final draft. Students learn the craft of creative nonfiction: how to select a moment from their life and shape it into a compelling narrative. Then they write with the same literary techniques found in fiction: voice, structure, pacing, imagery, and dialogue.

In week one, students choose their topic and plan their piece with coach guidance. In weeks two and three, they draft, learning to balance honesty with craft, to find the narrative arc inside a real experience, and to write with a voice that is distinctly their own. In week four, the coach provides detailed feedback and the student completes a final draft. Students finish with one polished memoir piece ready for revision or publication.

Week-by-Week: Week 1: Topic Selection & Memoir Planning | Week 2 & 3: Draft Development | Week 4: Revising and Editing the Draft

Want to write more? Take this workshop multiple times to build a collection, or take Build Your Collection: Fiction, Memoir & More for a full semester of creative writing. Ready to publish? Pair your finished pieces with Meet with an Editor and Publish or Publish Your Book.