Mining for Memoir–finding the gold nuggets of story in your memories

In his poem, “Digging”, Irish poet Seamus Heaney says:

Between my finger and my thumb
The squat pen rests.
I’ll dig with it.

In this 10 week course, that’s what we’ll be doing in supportive community — digging for the story gold in our memories.

I’m using cave imagery for this post, because in my experience caving is similar to going into your memories: sometimes descending into the depths looking for the anecdotes, scenes, conversations and memories that contribute to making a strong story. This picture shows a caver in their equipment, ready to descend. The only equipment you’ll need is your computer for Zoom and your notebook and pen… but the journey will be just as exciting, I promise!

In this 10 week workshop, we will investigate the material of your lives to discover what you remember, what you’re carrying from your past, and what it all means for understanding what you’ve been through.

We will investigating the theory of “memoir” – what it is, how it differs from other forms of life story and life review, and how to sift through your memories looking for elements that have a strong potential for writing memoir.

We will also be looking at examples from other successful memoirs: what those authors did and how they did it, to give you some ideas for craft.

There are two workshops this fall: One on Tuesday afternoons from 3:00 to 5:00 EDT, and one on Thursday evenings from 6:30 to 8:30 EDT. (Because Inkslingers is taking a writing retreat to Tuscany at the end of October, this workshop will have a 3 week break in the middle).

(This course is also preparation for “A Novel Approach to Memoir” if you’re considering spending a year writing a book length memoir.)

___________

Autumn 2022

TUESDAY AFTERNOONS
Every Tuesday afternoon 10 sessions, Starting September 27
Part 1 – 5 sessions September 27 to Oct. 18, Part 2 – 5 sessions, November 15 to Dec 20
Time: 3:00 pm to 5:00 pm EDT
Place: Online – Zoom
Cost: $250.00 CDN plus HST (13%)

Use the “Buy Ticket” below to register for this TUESDAY AFT. class (This workshop is now full. There is still space left in the Thursday evening workshop.)

___________

THURSDAY EVENINGS
Every Thursday evening 10 sessions, Starting September 23
Part 1 – 5 sessions September 22 to Oct. 20, Part 2 – 5 sessions, November 17 to Dec 15
Time: 6:30 to 8:30 pm EDT
Place: Online – Zoom
Cost: $250.00 CDN plus HST (13%)

Use the “Buy Ticket” below to register for this THURSDAY Evening class