Workshop: Memoir
ADVANCED MEMOIR: THE FULL IMMERSION
This popular workshop is geared for dedicated writers looking to dig deeper into their personal narratives in a supportive and instructive group setting.
Prior to the retreat, participants will submit an essay or excerpt from a work in progress. Each will then receive two manuscripts to mark up, based on provided guidelines. Fear not, no one will need to be a professional editor or punctilious proofreader. You only need to be a thoughtful and engaged reader who can ask questions and offer personal insight to your partners. Participants will be requested to also review all remaining submissions to aid in our lively group discussions.
Topics that arise during these discussions include the tricky issue of truth vs. fact, the way in which imagination informs memory, how our easiest “truths” are not always our best ones, and new ways to approach being honest with the reader—and ourselves. We’ll also talk about how to develop a clear thesis, how to establish your voice, where to start and end your narrative, and how to make your world come alive for your reader through sharp prose and vivid detail.
Critiques will be led by those assigned the author’s manuscript. (Constructive critiquing techniques will be provided beforehand.) Participants will each receive individual floor time in which to read their submission, hear critiques, ask the group questions, and air any writing concerns. All will be encouraged to meet with their partners between sessions to discuss the day’s insights and collaborate on implementing changes to their manuscripts. To conclude, participants will present a revised piece of writing and discuss their revision process.
Whether you are in the final editing phase of a piece, at loose ends, or bogged down midstream, this rewarding workshop will provide the tools and guidance to help you move forward.
LEVEL: ADVANCED. Participants should have taken a class or workshop in memoir, have memoir-writing experience or a significant work in progress.
SUBMIT
After registering, participants are asked to submit a manuscript of up to 1000-words by no later than 9 AM on Wed, April 23. Please email the manuscripts as attachments to director@mainewriters.org with the subject line: “PEAVEY WORKSHOP MSS.” *Word files are preferred, but you may also send a PDF.
A Note on Manuscripts from Elizabeth Peavey
As you prepare your submission, please keep the following in mind:
The selection you present is up to you. Some people like to bring their best and brightest sample and have a chance to share and celebrate their hard labors. Others prefer to present a problem piece to the group and hash out possible solutions. Either approach is fine.
If your submission is a stand-alone scene or essay, great. If not, try to choose an excerpt that has a clear beginning, middle, and end and does not require a great deal of set-up or explanation. When you submit your manuscript, briefly provide enough context to ground us in the action. Include this information in brackets at the head of the piece. (You don’t need to include this in your word count, but again, please try to be succinct.)
Speaking of which: Please strictly observe the 1,000-word limit. Do this as a courtesy to your fellow workshop participants, but also do it for you. Having spent 25 years in journalism, I can tell you there is no better editing tool than adherence to a word count (that, and a grumpy editor on the other side of a deadline).
It will also be helpful to state the status of the piece (just starting, stalled, looking to expand it into a longer work, ready for publication).
Celebrated Maine author, performer, and educator Elizabeth Peavey has helped people craft and share their stories for over 30 years. This January, she returned to print after an eight-year hiatus with her cover story, “Peavey Presses On,” for The Bollard magazine, where she also launched her new monthly column, “Out There.” [[we can include links when they’re up or just use thebollard.com]]
Her one-woman show, My Mother’s Clothes Are Not My Mother, ran for six years and received the Maine Literary Award for Best Drama. She is the author of three books, has appeared in several anthologies, and has written countless print columns and features for publications, including Down East magazine, where she served as contributing editor for 20 years. She has taught creative nonfiction, personal narrative, humor writing, and public speaking and performance to audiences ranging from undergraduates and MFA candidates to new Mainers, prison inmates, corporate executives, older adults, and middle school boys. She is a frequent keynote and guest lecturer at conferences and schools, and she’s provided story training to such organizations as Jobs for Maine Graduates, the Boys and Girls Club of Southern Maine, the Olympia Snowe Women’s Leadership Institute, and the John T. Gorman Foundation – proving we all have a story to tell.