Memoir in a Year, Part I (Write a First Draft)

Syllabus and Schedule

Dates:

Thursdays: January 12, 19, 26; February 2, 16; March 2, 16; April 6, 20; May 4, 18; June 1, 15; July 6; August 3; September 14, 21, 28; October 5, 19; November 2, 16; December 7, 14.

Time:

Mornings 9:30-12:30

Place:

WriterHouse

Instructor:

Sharon Harrigan

We will meet for 12 months, for a total of 24 three-hour classes, plus one-on-one manuscript consultation meetings during the summer with the instructor. Using well-known published book-length memoirs as models, you'll learn how effective memoirs build scenes with vivid settings, authentic dialogue, and a structure that keeps readers turning the pages. You'll shape your draft using craft elements like voice, imagery, narrative distance, the divided self, the "I" as a character, themes and motifs, and objects that convey emotional truths.

Phase I: The Last Three Thursdays in January
We’ll jump-start the class by meeting three weeks in a row. Every class will include three parts: in-class writing exercises, workshopping, and craft lecture/discussion. Three students will submit 7-10 pages for each class, so each student will be workshopped every three classes, or 8 times total. Students will be encouraged to write 10 new draft pages every two weeks for the whole year.

Phase II: First and third Thursday, February-June
Students will be assigned "writing buddies" to help them stay on track. On alternate weeks when class is not in session, students will be encouraged to attend optional in-class writing sessions. Students will be encouraged to send their 10 pages every two weeks to their writing buddies.

So that we can all share a vocabulary for our feedback and critiques, we will discuss the chapters in Writing Life Stories in chronological order (roughly one chapter per class) and do many of the exercises in class or as homework. After we have this foundation, we will read a famous published memoir at home (This Boy’s Life by Tobias Wolffe) and discuss how the author effectively uses each craft element (scene, exposition, summary, reflection, pacing, voice, etc.) we studied.

At the end of this phase (right before the summer) students will submit to the instructor their “half drafts”—all the pages they have written so far. Students will meet with the instructor before the class reconvenes in the fall to discuss the book's overall narrative arc. During the summer, students will check in with their "writing buddies" at least twice a month to monitor each other's progress in continuing to write ten pages every two weeks (and send those pages to their writing buddies).

Phase III: First Thursday,July and August (modified summer schedule)
Because so many people go on vacations during the summer, we will have a modified schedule, meeting only once a month. Students will keep tabs on each other's work and support each other through their writing buddies. They will all read the same book-length memoir over the summer (Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion) and be ready to identify its “backbone” and discuss how the author creates suspense and keeps us turning the pages.

Phase IV: Last three Thursdays of September
This phase will kick off with a session to use what we’ve learned so far in our reading to strengthen the story arc of our books. With that arc in mind, students will continue to write ten pages every two weeks, and a third of the class will be workshopped every session.

Phase V: First and Third Thursdays of October-November, and First and Second Thursdays of December

At the end of this phase, students will have a complete first draft of a book-length memoir and be ready to start revisions. We will have an end-of-year celebration/reading I December, and students will be encouraged to bring guests. Students from Memoir in a Year, Part 2, will be encouraged to attend, as well.

Books used (provided by WriterHouse): Writing Life Stories by Bill Roorbach, Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion, This Boy’s Life by Tobias Wolffe. Other excerpts provided by instructor.