The Elements of Memoir
Description: This class continues our exploration of memoir for returning students and introduces the genre to new students.
We’ll look at how memory is transformed into compelling writing and discuss the writing process and the decisions we make along the way.
We’ll place a strong emphasis on reading memoirs to inform our own writing as well as hear from successful memoirists on how they tackled the challenges of the genre.
A good amount of class time will be spent workshopping student manuscripts. Students should expect to develop 2-3 memoir manuscripts based on personal experience, and are encouraged to bring projects they are already working on.
Who Should Attend: This course is for writers of all levels who want to tell stories from their own lives. Students need not have any prepared pieces before class begins.
About the Instructor: Annette Gendler is a creative nonfiction writer. Her work has appeared in Bellevue Literary Review, Under the Sun, South Loop Review and on flashquake.com. She holds an MFA in Creative Writing from Queens University of Charlotte. With three young children and a demanding job as project manager for an HR consulting firm, Annette wakes up at five in the morning to write. She lives in Hyde Park with her family.