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Capturing Life in a Flash: The Art of One-Moment Memoirs
September 27, 2023 @ 2:00 pm - 3:30 pm EDT
Write flash essays that convey the depth and breadth of your life stories.
What can we do when an experience begs us to write about it, but we feel overwhelmed trying to capture the whole story? We can take it bit by bit, “bird by bird” (a la Anne Lamott), or moment by moment.
Life is made of moments: Big, showy ones, and small, quiet ones—many of them infused with deeper meaning. (Virginia Woolf called these “moments of being.”) In a flash essay, the moment and the meaning must be combined and distilled to their purest essence. It’s a tall order for a short form, but it can be done—and it can be fun! The seminar will include short, guided writing exercises, and there will be time for questions.
In this webinar, you will:
- DISCOVER your moments waiting to be written
- EXPLORE how to write powerful flash essays
- LEARN techniques for focusing your writer’s “lens”
- EMBRACE a mindset of ease, experimentation, and excitement for writing
This webinar is great for…
- Writers looking for a new way “in” to their work
- Interested in flash essay techniques
- Writers struggling to connect “the moment” and “the meaning” in their work
- Writers who want to learn (or revisit) literary craft for creative nonfiction
- Writers of any genre looking for a way to create with more ease and joy
Closed captioning is available. ✔
All registrants receive the recording. ✔
ABOUT YOUR PRESENTER
JENNA MCGUIGGAN wrote Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood Pieces of Wisdom Jigsaw Puzzle Book (Thunder Bay Press, 2021) and co-authored Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood: A Visual History (Clarkson Potter, October 2019). Her essays have appeared in The Orison Anthology, The Rappahannock Review, Essay Daily, Flycatcher, New World Writing, online for Prairie Schooner and Brevity, and elsewhere. Her work has been nominated for the Best of the Net Anthology and chosen as a finalist in contests from Prime Number Magazine, Hunger Mountain, and the Orison Anthology.
She has taught for the Creative Nonfiction Foundation, Hippocampus, The Writer’s Center, and Barrelhouse Magazine. Jenna received her MFA from Vermont College of Fine Arts. She is currently writing a book of linked essays that explore longing and belonging, from where we live to what we believe. Through her business, The Word Cellar, she offers online writing classes and works as a freelance writer and editor.
Questions? Please email Info@craft-talks.com