Quebec Writers' Federation Workshops

Fall Session 2010

Memoir is the art of inventing the truth.
William Zinsser

A fact is a made thing, New Yorker editor Bill Buford said. In this day-long workshop we will examine this idea and put it into action. Writing, like any other job, is about problem-solving, and we will endeavour to do a lot of that during the workshop. After a brief introduction and a discussion of some handouts, we will get down to the business of personal writing, which is all about transforming fact and memory into compelling stories.

This workshop will be hands-on and pragmatic. Participants are encouraged to submit a short piece of non-fiction, a personal essay or an excerpt from a memoir [maximum of 10 pages double-spaced] for class discussion at least a week prior to the workshop. Once you have confirmed your registration with the QWF office, please send your piece by email to admin@qwf.org, with the subject line "For Yanofsky."

There will also be in-class assignments and time allotted to work on them.

Topics for the day:

What's the difference?

Defining terms like creative non-fiction, memoir, personal essays, autobiography, and autobiographical fiction.

Storytelling.

The basics: character, plot, dialogue, voice, style, structure and other scary words.

Discovering Your Subject.

Life as raw material and how to transform that raw material into narrative.

Revise, Revise, Revise.

The art of criticizing, analyzing. Editing, and revising your own work.

Marketing.

Some tips on pitching your ideas and selling your work.

Taking Risks.

The advantages and pitfalls of personal writing or: Who's Going to Be Mad at Me Now?

Finally, if we begin with the assumption—a safe one, I am convinced—that everyone has a story to tell, the challenge will be to find that story and to find the best way to tell it and make it interesting to others. That said, participants will be encouraged to tell their own stories in the way best suited to them.

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