THE POWER
OF PERSONAL NARRATIVE
Being human, our stories mediate our experience. In this six-week course, we will look at the ways our stories are communicated and crafted. We'll do writing exercises that expand our perceptions of memory, sharpen our skills of observation, and help us take a closer look at the personal narratives that shape our lives and how we shape those personal narratives. We'll also work on creation and revision in workshop activities that strengthen our practice as writers and as readers. This class is open to any experience level.
Whether you are writing essays, poetry, memoir, fiction or experimenting with different kinds of journaling, you’ll receive writing tips, learn new ways to access and explore memory, and perhaps even discover ways to narrate your life that you did not know were possible. And most importantly, you’ll connect with other people who are ready to embrace their own unique methods of self-expression along with you.
Please contact me or visit my store if you're interested.
The Power Of Personal Narrative
Why should I do this?
What if I'm not a writer?
How can your story empower your life? By telling it. After taking the time to create a safe environment, we will study the way we construct our stories and explore new ways to create the framework for our own voices to emerge authentically.
Whether you are interested in writing memoir, personal essay, creative non-fiction or poetry, this class will encourage you to observe and examine your own interpretation of yourself and how it is reflected through your writing.
You might think that keeping your stories in the closet is a safe place for them to be. You might wonder what purpose it would serve to pull them off the hangers and take a good long look at them. You might wonder if some of them even fit you anymore. So, what if you chose a different one? What if you experimented with a piece of your person you had not worn for a while?
What if your memories could be called back into your life as a legend, as a way to read the map of your life? Exploring our personal narratives can help us to see our life through many different lenses, creating a deeper, more solid understanding of the sources that shaped us.
We need to share our stories. It is sometimes difficult to validate our personal narratives without support. Perhaps we’re afraid of making ourselves that vulnerable.
Your self-expression is not on trial in this class. We will create a safe space for exploration and leave our judgments at the door. Any commentary on the work produced will be undertaken with the understanding that we’re here to facilitate the “care and feeding of the work in progress,” not engage in any harsh critique.
Though my experience and expertise applies mainly to the written word, if you’d like to explore personal narrative through film, or dance, visual art, or whatever modality you choose—you are still welcome to sign up.
Because we’ll be participating together via email and over the phone it will be important that you have a way to communicate the personal narrative you’re sharing, but I trust your creativity and the story you have to share.
Here’s the thing: Your story is powerful. Whatever it is. When you tell it, there’s power in the telling. It matters less what “happened,” it matters less what the “outcome” might have been. The power is in the telling. The power is that you are willing to share it. The power lies within the courage you muster to be honest with yourself and others and to interpret your personal narrative through your own eyes, ears, mind, heart and hands.