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Course Descriptions

Currently accepting registrations Register now >> Next program starts: Winter 2009 Program location: Bellevue Next information meeting: Wed., Nov. 12 (see details >>) Sign up to receive e-mail updates >> Contact a program representative >>   Program at a glance >>

Winter Course

Memoir: Discovering and Organizing Your Story

Schedule: (12 sessions) Reg #94137. Mondays, Jan. 5-Mar. 30, 2009, 6:00 p.m.-9:30 p.m. (no class Jan. 19 and Feb. 16), plus one Saturday, Feb. 21, 2009, 9:00 a.m.-4:30 p.m.; $863; 4.5 CEUs.
Instructor: Carlene Cross

Looking to write a memoir but not sure where to start? This course offers the tools for beginning and organizing a memoir - whether it be a book-length narrative or a collection of essays.

We'll begin by gathering the ingredients for your story: You will delve into memory to produce memoir material (often prompted by in-class exercises or short take-home assignments). You will also learn how to recognize the elements of a compelling memoir (including narrative structure, character development, dialogue, setting and more). As you submit and receive feedback on your own written work, you'll gain practice in using these elements. In addition, you'll develop your own writing schedule and identify your goals and vision as a writer.

Reading together from published memoirs, we will analyze how writers organize their stories by using narrative arc, chapter development, and transitions between chapters. By the end of the course, you will have a significant amount of memoir material and a sense of which format will work best for your story.

Spring Course

Memoir: Bringing Your Story to Life

Schedule: (12 sessions) Mondays, Apr. 13-June 29, 2009, 6:00 p.m.-9:30 p.m. (no class May 25), plus one Saturday, May 16, 2009, 9:00 a.m.-4:30 p.m.; $862; 4.5 CEUs.
Instructor: Carlene Cross

Building on the memories and ideas introduced in the first course, this course offers additional writing tools and guidance on how to deepen and enliven your work. Continuing our exploration of organizational strategies, we will learn how authors use sections, prologues, epilogues, framing devices, and scene and summary to communicate their stories. In addition, we'll discuss how to write about secrets and other sensitive subjects.

Then we will ask: What is it that makes some stories leap off the page so you feel like you know the author? One answer is "voice"- the distinctive style that marks the work of a particular writer. To explore voice, we will analyze the memoirs we've read so far - and a few new ones - to see how writers use language to make their stories vibrantly alive and unique. As part of the focus on language, you will learn how to edit your own work so that your voice can rise to the surface.

Plus, we'll examine magazine and book publishing - including how to query agents, submit your work, and develop relationships with editors. As the course ends, we'll focus on methods for continuing your writing after class is over.