With the bonus below, this class will now run 9 consecutive weeks: Mondays, 3/30 – 5/25.
This 4-week intensive (May 4-May 25) is our most ambitious and exciting master class to date. Join Brooke and Linda Joy for four consecutive Mondays to learn about the inner workings of voice—its evolution from something you talk or think about to existing on the page; how it’s driven by courage and authenticity; and narrative techniques that add sophistication, complexity, nuance, and resonance to your scenes so you create intimacy and a heart connection with your reader.
New (writing through the crisis) price: $99.
BONUS: We’re holding 5 writing sessions on Zoom—an online video conference app—leading up to the May class. We all need to be in community during these unprecedented times to support each other and to write. We will write together every week on Mondays at 4 pm PT | 7 pm ET on the following Mondays: 3/30, 4/6, 4/13, 4/20, 4/27.
MAY 4: THE EVOLUTION OF YOUR VOICE—YOUR STORY, ON AND OFF THE PAGE
All memoir starts with your story, but the story that exists in your head or in your journals (or even on your blog) is different than the memoir you’ll eventually be publishing. Here we’ll talk about the secrets to good story, learning to take risks, and setting aside fears in order to write the story you need to tell.
Class 2
MAY 11: DECIDING WHAT TO SHARE AND UNDERSTANDING THE MANY LAYERS OF SELF-EXPRESSION
Here we’ll explore what voice is—your perspective, the lens through which you see your story, and the point of view you express. We’ll also talk about permission—both to share and not to share, and how to make sure you’re creating meaning and connection in your writing.
Class 3
MAY 18: FINDING THE COURAGE TO CREATE A BRIDGE FROM YOUR HEART TO THE PAGE
In this hour we’ll discuss yet another layer of voice—the opinions you have, your feelings, your reactions and biases. Embracing this level of voice and sharing typically triggers writers’ insecurities, and here we’ll discuss how to stay the course, harness your courage, and write from the heart.
Class 4
MAY 25: THE ART OF NARRATION AND HOW TO PAINT PICTURES WITH YOUR WORDS
We present three narrative voices in this class, complete with examples, in an effort to support writers to be freer on the page. We’ll take a look at the two widely known narrative “I’s”—what we call the “immediate” narrator and the “guiding” narrator, and we’ll also explore a third, the reflective narrator, who brings meaning to your story by staying clear-eyed about why what you’re sharing matters.
Join Linda Joy and Brooke and our talented and inspiring guests—best-selling author Elizabeth Gilbert (Eat, Pray, Love and Committed), Joshua Mohr (Sirens), and Alia Hanna Habib (literary agent).
Brooke Warner kicks off the day with an invitation to dream big—into what your memoir wants to be, into your publishing possibilities, and into the power of your self-expression. This hour is about voice—what you’ll do with it, how to get yourself out there, and how to nurture and grow the energy and inspiration of your creative calling.
11am PT/2pm ET: You and You: How to Access the Two “I’s” of Memoir Writing
Joshua Mohr offers up a craft-based hour about the two “I’s” in memoir writing—the one who’s “living” through the arc of the story, and the retrospective narrator, the one looking back and telling the yarn. This session will teach techniques to bring out the best in both these I’s, so they add up to a cohesive whole that’s emotionally fraught, with ratcheted-up stakes to engage the audience.
Noon PT/3pm ET: Big “Memoir” Magic
Elizabeth Gilbert will be in conversation with Brooke during this memoir-focused hour that will explore creativity, permission, passion, and what Liz has learned from living out loud. Brooke will field participant questions in real-time as we get to the heart of how Liz thinks about memoir and why telling your story matters, now more than ever.
1pm PT/4pm ET—Publishing Tips & Success Strategies for Memoirists
Literary agent Alia Hanna Habib offers up a behind-the-industry-scenes look at what literary agents are looking for when considering taking on memoirs: 1) concept; 2) voice; and 3) author platform. She’ll unpack these keys to success and explain what aspiring authors can do to up the ante in these areas to capture agents’ and editors’ attention.
2pm PT/5pm ET: Layering Meaning Into Your Scenes
Linda Joy Myers closes the day with a deep and practical presentation about how to layer detail and meaning into your scenes. In this hour you’ll learn how words paint pictures, how different narrative techniques allow you to deepen the readers’ experience, and how to balance showing vs. telling.
In Love Warrior, Glennon Doyle Melton has written about emotional pain in a way that most memoirists struggle with. She grapples with addiction, painful insecurities, her husband’s infidelity, maternal overwhelm, and questions about her own lack of sex drive. Tackling a single one of these issues is tough; to expose all of them and handle them with care requires bravery and skill.
In this free webinar, memoir experts Linda Joy Myers and Brooke Warner will address the fears that invariably come up for writers who want to write their deepest truths and expose their most intimate—and often shameful—secrets. The webinar will address the fallouts of such naked writing—and talk about how sharing your truth has a way of both leveling everything and setting you free.
During this Free Webinar You Will Learn:
The hard truths—how to share them, why to share them, and what the consequences are for you, the writer, and the story if you don’t.
Intentional omission. What did Glennon leave out? How did this impact the story and her readers?
How to tackle hard themes, and the balance a memoir must strike when you’re sharing the intimate details of your sometimes-messy life.
Whether the fallout is worth it. A look at the repercussions of writing a memoir, how to determine your tolerance for other people’s reactions, and ways to know whether the timing is right, and if you can weather the possible consequences.
I’m excited to join Amy Ferris and other authors for the L.A. launch of her new anthology Shades Of Blue. I’ll be reading my piece from the book, along with Jennifer Pastiloff, David Lacy, Betsy Graziani Fasbinder, and Hollye Dexter.
The event is sponsored by The Depressed Cake Shop. This is a “This Is My Brave” event.
BARNES & NOBLE AUTHOR EVENTS
Panel Discussion with Writers on Suicide/Depression
Sunday, November 22nd at 2pm
Barnes & Noble Bookstore
5604 Bay Street. Emeryville, CA
Meet Betsy Graziani Fasbinder & Linda Joy Meyers, contributing authors of Shades of Blue:Writers on Depression, Suicide, & Feeling Blue
Meet Kevin Briggs, author of Guardian of the Golden Gate: Protecting the Line Between Hope and Despair
Present this flyer to cashier and a % of your sales will go towards AFSP (American Foundation of Suicide Prevention)
Address: Bay Street Emeryville, 5604 Bay St, Emeryville, CA 94608
Phone:(510) 547-0905
I’ll be joining Amy Ferris, editor of Shades of Blue, Brooke Warner, Founder She Writes Press, Author of What’s Your Book? And Hollye Dexter, Fire Season for a panel discussion about using stories to save lives.
Los Angeles Valley College, 5800 Fulton Ave, Van Nuys CA
Saturday Keynote Luncheon
October 24, 12:30 pm
The Heart and Craft of Writing a Successful Memoir Ms. Myers will reveal how to dig deep into the truth of your life and examine the essential elements of craft to help you write the best memoir. Bring your heart — your past, your secrets and your challenges — to your work, and draw upon the craft of story to author a memoir that will keep readers turning the page.
Sunday workshop
Write Your Legacy Memoir
You have a story to tell—many stories that you want to share with your family. It’s a deeply meaningful act to write your story well so generations that come after you can learn about who you were, and where you came from. You are the only one who can tell your stories the way they need to be told. Learn how to use craft to create stories that your family will treasure forever.
