​Though at first glance it may seem straightforward, memoir is a strange and capacious genre of writing. To be a memoirist is to grapple with the central questions of how we understand ourselves and our lives, and how we can begin to fit it on the page. How do we make our lives into story?

​We face the questions of where our stories begin, how we frame and depict ourselves, how we make sense of the chaos of existence. Even if you know the story you want to tell, the prospect of writing a memoir can be overwhelming and unwieldy.

​Our class will provide structure to write your memoir, as well as introducing craft elements that can help you find your own voice.

​​A ten-week generative class to workshop and write memoir 

​This workshop is designed for writers with a full length memoir in mind, whether you have started writing your book or not.

​Over ten weeks, you’ll look at a number of different formal and stylistic strategies and explore different methods of memoir writing. Each week you will have a short, 1-2 page writing assignment, in addition to working on your book. I am strict about workshop etiquette and boundaries, to be sure it is a comfortable and supportive environment for all writers to share your work. By the end of the course, you will have a clear sense of your own voice, and a clear path forward to finishing your manuscript.

​To be a good writer is to be a good reader. We learn the most about writing by reading widely, and paying careful attention to other work. We’ll look at a variety of texts, studying how different authors represent their lives.

​Each session blends discussion of texts and craft elements, as well as workshopping and discussing our progress:

• ​Discussion of published memoirs: What do we learn from studying these other texts?

• ​Craft conversation: Explore craft strategies in the short writing assignments.

• ​Workshop: Beginning the second week, writers will share excerpts of their projects to discuss with the class. Our conversations will focus on craft elements at work in the manuscript and possible strategies to use moving forward.

​Weekly Themes

​January 11: What exactly is a memoir?

​January 18: Memoir as memory and fiction

​January 25: Structure and Time in Memoir

​February 1: Yourself as character

​February 8: Writing about Beloveds

​February 15: The physical world

​February 22: Setting in memoir

​March 1: The Memoirist’s Voice

​March 8: Navigating the Ethics of Memoir

​March 15: Where do we go from here?

​Your Instructor

​Madeline is an adjunct professor of Creative Writing, Humanities, and Religion at Austin Community College. Undead: A Memoir of My Suicide is her first book.

​Her writing has appeared in The Washington Post, Ploughshares, and The Offing, among others. She holds an M.T.S. from Harvard University and an M.F.A. from the University of Alabama. She is a Fulbright award recipient, winner of the 2021 Ploughshares Emerging Writer Award for Nonfiction, an Aspen Words Emerging Writer Fellow, and an alum of the Tin House Summer Workshop.