SEMINAR | Craft a Stronger Memoir: Identifying and Fixing the 5 Most Common Craft Issues

REGISTER NOW $75 (early bird) | $99 regular

LIVE ON ZOOM | Saturdays, 2-4 pm Eastern | Jan 4th and 11th | Nonfiction

Most memoir manuscripts have the same five craft issues. Learn what they are and how to avoid them.

Of course your memoir has unique craft challenges. And yet, most developmental editors – myself included – will tell you that common, identifiable and fixable issues arise in memoirs, again and again. Although most writers can sense when something in the manuscript is falling flat, or we know in our hearts “it’s just not ready yet,” we’re so close to the material that it’s difficult to identify which areas need improvement. 

In this 2-day seminar, we’ll discuss the most common issues in memoir manuscripts and strategies for addressing them in our own work. You’ll learn a toolbox of revision strategies to apply to your manuscript immediately, including distinguishing “story” versus “situation,” evaluating the use of scene versus summary, and sharpening your opening and closing pages. You will leave the workshop with a more critical editorial lens, a toolbox of revision techniques, and a roadmap for making your memoir agent-ready.

In this seminar you’ll:

• LEARN the five most common issues in memoir manuscripts and how to avoid them.
• DEVELOP a more critical editorial lens toward your work. 
• ASSESS your manuscript for craft issues that might make agents stop reading.
• BUILD a toolbox of revision strategies for making your memoir agent-ready–and improving all your future writing. 

By the end of these two days, you’ll be equipped with a deep understanding of how scenes work, how to sequence scenes to create a dramatic story, and how and when to use summary and reflection to create memorable and meaningful narratives.

This seminar is ideal for…

• Writers looking to understand and apply essential revision strategies
• Writers ready to revise their memoir manuscript with a critical, editorial lens.
• Those who sense areas in their work that need improvement but aren’t sure how to address them.
• Writers who’ve written most or all of a memoir draft and are looking to revise and pitch agents.

Closed captioning is available. ✔

Think you might miss part of the class? No worries, replays will be available. ✔

ABOUT THE INSTRUCTOR

Katie Bannon is a writer, editor, and educator whose work has appeared in The Washington Post, The Rumpus, ELLE Magazine, Narratively, and more. Her memoir manuscript, which charts her journey as a compulsive hair puller, was a finalist for the Permafrost Nonfiction Book Prize. A graduate of GrubStreet’s Memoir Incubator, she holds an MFA in creative nonfiction from Emerson College. She is a developmental editor who loves working with memoirists and essayists on how to write and revise their most vulnerable, taboo stories. She teaches at GrubStreet and lives in Central Massachusetts with her partner and two cats.

Student Tesitmonials:

“Katie is the best writing instructor I have ever had. Her presentation was impeccable. She provided an abundance of ideas, details, examples, and information. In fact, the class was overflowing with information. I have nothing but praise for Katie and the class content.”

“Holy moly, this was a superb class. Instructor was well-prepared with lots of valuable and well-organized information and ideas. I have already begun applying some of the tools from class to revise—and what a difference it’s making!”

“Katie was an amazing instructor- she explained core concepts with clarity and ease, provided excellent examples and writing samples, and created a very supportive learning environment. The class truly exceeded my expectations!”

THE FINE PRINT

We understand that life can get in the way of your plans. We want you to be able to get the most out of your course, and our refund policy is designed to balance your need for flexibility with our deadlines and obligations to our teachers.

Before the first class, you may request a refund (less a $25 processing fee).

Please keep in mind that no refunds or credits will be issued after class begins.

Questions? Please email Info@craft-talks.com