Memoir
Workshop
Nailing your structure and characters.
I have two 90-minute memoir workshops that I hold regularly on Zoom and in person: one on Writing About Real People and one on Nailing Your Structure. Sometimes I run them together, for a bumper three hours.
Workshop #1: Writing About Real People
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Consider ways other memoirists have written about family
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See what different memoirists have said bout memory, truth and artistic licence
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Understand how trauma affects memory
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Look at the different roles common in a dysfunctional family
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See examples of disclaimers and right of reply
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Consider yourself as a protagonist
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Find your tone of voice
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Avoid a story drenched in shame
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Can you be anonymous?
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Understand defamation law in Australia
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Workshop #2: Nailing Your Structure
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Look at the various forms of first-person writing
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Identify your crusades and your readers
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Find inventive ways to theme your story
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Use different templates to structure your story
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Learn how great beginning and endings work
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Apply the rules of classical music and feature writing to your chapters
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Work in research via different methods
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Identify the universal themes of your life
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Write a proposal for a publisher or agent
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Session Costs
$100 per person for 90 minute session.
NB: Organisations (such as writers groups and writers festivals) can book both these workshops as one giant three-hour affair for a flat rate of $700 (plus expenses if on-site) and can attach a reasonable ticket price​
Testimonial
"I came away with lots of new ideas and ways to improve my writing, which you delivered in a thoughtful and engaging way. The diagram about the Ordinary/Special Worlds is a great structure for the coming-out experience. That, and many other things discussed, had so much resonance"
Bendigo Writers Festival (participant)
Testimonial
"In the 24 hours since your workshop I can feel the tiny fragments that have been faffing around doing nothing for months forming into place. I’ve drafted two chapters, one-handed with one eye on my phone and the other on the baby, but I had to grab it as it erupted. Very clarifying, affirming and practical"
Jasper Peach (Zoom participant)
Testimonial
"I have never been brave enough to do something like this workshop. When I saw Jenny was going to be there I knew that the two combined opportunities (writing and Jenny’s experience) could not be missed. I signed up feeling brave and nearly did not attend. However, I am so glad I did – I gained so much from Jenny’s reflections and suggestions."
Gunnas (participant)
