Memoir Writing

Your trip to Dublin. The difficult birth of your first child. Your struggle to learn a language and understand the culture of your new home.

You have a story and that story needs to be told. These tales are worth preserving, for you, your family and the world beyond. The knowledge of the past, of family history and roots is vital to our sense of identity and connectedness.

Life stories are treasures, passed on from generation to generation, told and retold by grandparents, parents and other family members. The loss of these heirlooms and personal history can lead to the unraveling of the fabric of families, as well as our society.

Isn’t it time to tell your tale?

Introduction to Writing Family Stories

Let us inspire and guide you in writing narratives that keep your family stories alive. We will

• explore different styles of writing and help you discover an approach that works for you.

• focus on the craft of writing personal stories and direct you to rich resources to enhance your skills.

• talk about how to uncover the truth, provoke memories, select meaningful material and structure your memoir

• help you set a writing schedule to achieve your goals

Writing exercise

We will put our pens to the paper to participate in short and entertaining writing exercises that are designed to inspire the writer within. Natalie Goldberg’s teachings on free-flow writing will be the basis of our writing session.

Writing and Publishing options

In the last part of the workshop, we will talk about methods that help with staying on track, finishing writing projects and conquering the inner critic. Here we will explore different options for weaving vignettes into a longer story or memoir. Last but not least we focus on editing your manuscript and introduce different options for publishing and sharing your stories.

Interested in joining us for a workshop? Contact Truffletree Publishing to discuss workshop dates.