Narrative Writing Class: Revising Your Life (Fall 2024)

Description

Revising Your Life: The Art of Narrative Writing

You have a story you’re dying to tell, but how do you tell it? This narrative writing class will help you get it down on paper, whether it’s a memoir, novel, short story, personal essay, travel story or nonfiction narrative.

This eight-session class in narrative writing will give you the tools to craft your story, whether fiction or nonfiction. You’ll learn these essential techniques:

1. The five best ways of opening a story, entrancing readers and editors.
2. Research and interviewing to add texture and credibility to your tale.
3. First, third person points of view, adding a crucial psychological dimension to a story.
4. How to write a great first draft.
5. Structuring, revising, polishing like a pro.
6. Getting the story to the right editor.

The course will run Oct. 16 to December 4 on Wednesday evenings via Zoom video conference with at least one in-person hybrid class.

There will be six assignments, including a 150-word story idea, a 500-word profile, a 150-word lead, a 1500- to 2500-word story, a revised story, and a 250-word cover letter. In addition to the classroom work, I will schedule individual conferences with each student. This will give me a chance to go over your work with you one-on-one and suggest ways to improve it.

Texts: Anne Lamott’s Bird by Bird and Daniel James Brown’s The Boys in the Boat, available at the Elliott Bay Book Company or other bookstore.

To enroll, please send me check for $675 to 201 Newell St., Seattle, WA 98109 or you can pay with a credit card through Venmo or the PayPal link on my website. Enrollment is limited to 15. For more information, contact me at nick@Thewritersworkshop.net or 206-284-7121.

Note: This class will take place via Zoom video conference with at least one hybrid in-person class at Good Shepherd Center (4649 Sunnyside Ave. N.) in Seattle’s Wallingford neighborhood.