WORKSHOP OUTLINE
FUNDAMENTALS OF LIFE STORIES WRITING

"Terrific learning experience! The instructor, tools, course
site, and content all interrelated beautifully to help me grow
as a writer. I can see that a great deal of work and thought
went into the structure. I teach online for a living, and I can
see that it is well done and professional."
--Patrick Keough, Fundamentals of Life Stories Writing

Writing is inherently a private, personal activity. Perhaps the
most personal, most instinctive form of writing is the
journal--the record of a life as it is lived. Even though you
may be intimately familiar with the events and "characters"
themselves, you may never have given thought to the actual
process of turning these personal experiences and memories
into "stories" that can be read and enjoyed by others. In this
workshop you will learn fundamental creative writing techniques
that will help you explore personal and family stories and
record life experiences in ways that are creative,
entertaining, and personally meaningful. This workshop will
consist of six two-week sessions.

Session One: Getting Started
Exploring your memories; Focusing on sensory details

Session Two: The Importance of Place
Setting the scene; Writing descriptively about place

Session Three: Real People Are Characters Too
Becoming a careful observer; Dialogue

Session Four: Every Family Has a Story
Anecdotes & oral histories; Interviewing & research

Session Five: Voice & Style
Putting your personality on the page

Session Six: Making Your Writing the Best it Can be
Polishing your prose; Revising and rewriting