Writing Your Memoir Thursdays, April 11 - May 30, 6:30 pm to 8:00 pm Delaware Art Museum
Have you ever thought about writing a true short story about a moment in your life? Or maybe you're already working on your memoir and would like some guidance about how to refine your book. In this eight-week course for adult students of all levels, you will mine your memories for storytelling gold and come away with a draft of a short nonfiction narrative and an outline for a book. Students will learn the difference between memoir and autobiography and be presented with writing prompts and passages from a diverse selection of narrative nonfiction for inspiration.
Teaching Statement and Biography
As a teaching artist, I enjoy working with aspiring and established writers of all backgrounds. I work with writers individually as an editor and I work with writers in groups. I recently offered my popular Restorative Writing Workshop at the Delaware Art Museum and was one of the presenters at the Delaware Art Museum’s Wilmington Writers’ Conference in 2020. I have been a guest lecturer at the Philadelphia Community College, Main Line Writers Group, Wilmington Montessori School, and New College of California. I co-facilitated creative writing classes at 826 Valencia in San Francisco, and the Fortune Society in New York. I was a creative writing instructor at Sand Paths Academy and served as the Director of Education at ACE Programs for the Homeless in New York City.
I am currently a Writing Mentor for PEN America's Prison and Justice Writing Program. Earlier this year, I completed the Creative Aging Teaching Artist Training program through Lifetime Arts, sponsored by the Delaware Division of the Arts and I'm featured in their Artist Roster.
I'm an award-winning writer with an MFA in Writing who has had the honor of working with some of my creative heroes. The best part of writing, in my experience, is the community and thought-provoking conversations created through this essential form of communication. My admiration for storytellers and the function of storytelling is the core of my teaching approach.
Teaching Approach
As a writer and as a teaching artist, I am interested in how human experience shapes stories. My trauma-informed teaching philosophy is founded on the recognition of each student as an individual with unique interests and experiences, to be treated with respect and encouragement. I enjoy bridging each person's specific interests to their writing goals.
I look forward to helping writers of all backgrounds find and amplify their writing voices by offering my classes, which can be tailored to the specific needs of your organization.
Menu of Classes
Restorative Writing Workshop
Artist Louise Bourgeois observed, “Art is restoration: the idea is to repair the damages that are inflicted in life, to make something that is fragmented...into something that is whole.” This popular community-building workshop can be a one-day offering or an ongoing workshop or tailored into a sequential, six-week program culminating in an optional public reading. It is an opportunity for writers of all levels to experiment with creative writing by responding to a series of writing prompts, inspiring passages, and discussions of how creative writing can transform chaos into something organized and meaningful. Writing can help make sense of things that are difficult to process and can be a way of taking control of our stories in a time when everything feels out of control. Learn how writing can be a wonderful tool for self-care, understanding, engagement, and even social change.
Writing Your Memoir
Have you ever thought about writing a true short story about a moment in your life? Or maybe you're already working on your memoir and would like some guidance on how to refine your book. In this eight-week course for adult students of all levels, you will mine your memories for storytelling gold and come away with a draft of a short nonfiction narrative and an outline for a book. You will learn the difference between memoir and autobiography and be presented with writing prompts and passages from a diverse selection of narrative nonfiction for inspiration. The course may culminate in a public reading of works in progress.
Short Story Writing
Short stories are fun to read and they're a great way to experiment with creative writing. There are many publishing opportunities in journals, magazines, and anthologies for writers of short stories. A novelist might begin writing their idea as a short story before expanding it into a book. In this three-week course for adult writers of all levels, you will read a diverse and inspiring selection of short stories, respond to writing prompts to generate new ideas and put into practice the essential elements of story as you learn how to shape your ideas into a complete short story.
Write Your Novel
Have you always wanted to write a novel? It's time to get started! Meet other aspiring novelists and become part of a writing community during this six-week course for adult writers of all levels. In an encouraging and supportive workshop setting, you will generate new ideas and learn how to apply the foundational story elements to your work as you begin to transform your ideas into a book-length fictional narrative.
Other one-day or extended courses:
Persuasive Writing PR Essentials for Artists Craft Elements of Story True Stories: Creative Nonfiction Writing The Play’s The Thing: Playwriting 101 Social Justice Crime Fiction