“Telling Your Life in Stories”
July 8 and 15, 2013, 10:00 am – noon
If you want someone to know who you are, there’s a better way than saying you were born in Rochester, have a degree from State, and won Best Meeting Organizer at your first job. Instead, tell some stories. What happened at school the day after you learned your parents might split up? Why did you quit that “perfect” job right before your 30th birthday? What really happened to your first car? Why do you still have that ratty backpack from that summer twenty years ago?
You make sense of your life not as a bunch of dates or accomplishments, but as stories – and only you can tell those stories.
If you’re been wondering whether you want to write some stories from your life, or stories about your family, this seminar is a gentle introduction to the memoir. You’ll learn how to make your project the right size for you, and how to get past worries about seeming to be bragging, about being dull, or about hurting other people’s feelings.
We meet twice, for two hours each time. For our first Monday morning, we’ll define what we mean now when we talk about the memoir. For our second meeting, we’ll move on to the how of the memoir. Throughout, we’ll dive into a few writing exercises to get your memories and creativity flowing. And if you find they do flow, that you’ve gotten excited about trying out a memory or two on the page, we have the space for a third Monday morning to get together and share a bit.
This seminar is a part of the Leelanau Summinar program, organized by the Leland Community Cultural Center in the Old Art Building. Click here for more information or to register.
