We all have experiences, stories, truths worthy of the page. But how do you turn a memory or life experience into a powerful essay? In this interactive master class, you’ll learn tips on how to engage readers right from the start, as well as the key narrative techniques you can use to make your true story as vivid, meaningful, and real to your readers as it is to you. Bring something to write on/with and leave all self-doubts at the door.
In addition to learning how to structure an essay, class participants will briefly write to a “prompt,” which will then be followed by an interactive session. Many of the tips and techniques shared by the instructor will be applied to the participants own in-class writing. (Get ready to experience the power of positive feedback as a tool to help you grow your work from its strengths up.)
JONI B. COLE is the author of seven books, including the new release Party Like It’s 2044: Finding the Funny in Life and Death, and two acclaimed writing guides: Good Naked: How to Write More, Write Better, and Be Happier (listed as a “Best Books for Writers” by Poets & Writers magazine) and Toxic Feedback: Helping Writers Survive and Thrive (“I can't imagine a better guide to writing's rewards and perils than this fine book,” American Book Review). For twenty-five years she has taught creative writing to adults through her own writer’s center in White River Junction, Vermont, through the Dartmouth Writer’s Society, and at a diversity of academic and nonprofit programs across the country. She is a contributor to The Writer magazine and Jane Friedman blog, and hosts the podcast “Author, Can I Ask You?” For more info, visit www.jonibcole.com