This course took place in 2019. We are running this course completely online via Zoom in 2020, it will run during the following dates: 8 x Thursdays: 16, 23, 30 July; 6, 13, 20, 27 August; 3 September, 10am-12pm via Zoom. You can find out more and enrol here. 

SOLD OUT – join the waitlist

This is an advanced memoir course for those who want to write more than a record or a history, for those who are ready for a creative journey.  This course will refresh the technique of writing from original memory and creating the texture of lived experience on the page, and will explore narrating voice, storytelling and narrative pacing and structure. There will be a special trouble-shooting section on the problems in finding form – an invaluable insight into the structural pitfalls that can await the memoirist – based on Patti’s work critiquing hundreds of manuscripts.

Over the course there will be a series of readings from such memoirists as Cheryl Strayed (Wild) and Helen Garner (Joe Cinque’s Consolation), in-depth discussions of writing issues, and, of course, many exercises aimed at extending memoir in its role as a rich literary genre. Each person will also get the chance to present a chapter for workshopping. Participants will have individual attention in a creative and encouraging atmosphere.

Participant Requirements

This course is suitable for those who have already attended a life writing course, as well as those who have made a start on their own. Please purchase the course reference text, Writing True Stories by Patti Miller.