Still time to enroll in this summer's Memoir Class

Eng. 551: Special Topics in Composition
Creative Nonfiction: Crafting Short Memoir
Summer LWP Open Institute
3 Graduate Credits
$300 Fee (the rest of tuition and books paid for by LWP)
Two week session: weekdays 8:30-12:45 June 15-26

Course Description

Memoir.  Personal narrative.  Narrative Nonfiction.  Personal essay.  Short memoir.  We can call what we will be writing in this class by any of these names, but they all share one central element – a first person narrator who reflects on what Barrie Jean Borich calls “the actual” in his or her world.   She writes: 

“We begin a work of creative nonfiction not with the imaginary but with the actually, with what actually is or actually was, or what actually happened.  From this point we might move in any direction, but the actual is our touchstone.” 

Short memoir tries to tell what actually is or was; however, it is not journalism.  Short memoir differs from journalism in that it uses elements of fiction and poetry – characterization, setting, symbolism, figurative language and more – to tell a story. 

What will we do? We will read.  We will write.  We will discuss.  We will explore memories, places, and significant objects.  We will go out into the community for a writing tour of downtown Charleston, and to the Citadel Beach House on Isle of Palms for inspiration from nature.  Brett Lott will be joining us as a special guest, and we will meet up with other LWP groups.  We will write online, explore how to identify markets for your work, and work toward publication (three beginner writers got published out of last years’ class). We will have fun in a non-stressful, supportive, word-friendly environment. We will give you permission to be a writer.

Course Texts

Required:

On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft  by Stephen King
In Brief: Short Takes on the Personal  by Judith Kitchen & Mary P. Jones
Before We Begin:  A Practical Memoir of the Writer’s Life  by Bret  Lott

Course Syllabus

Monday, June 15
Citadel campus
         Introductions
         Journal Writing
         Creative Nonfiction Discussion
         Writing Assignments for Course:  Focal Points
         Writing Time
         Final Discussion

Tuesday, June 16
 Citadel campus
         Journal Writing
         Reading Discussion
         Mini-lesson — Blogging (meet in computer lab)
         Writing/blogging time (computer lab)
         Writing Response Group
         Final Discussion

Wednesday, June 17
Citadel Beach House IOP
         Journal Writing
         Reading Discussion
         Mini-lesson
         Writing time
         Writing Response Group
         Author’s Chair
        
Thurs, June 18
         Journal Writing
         Reading Discussion
         Mini-lesson
         Writing Response Group
         Writing/blogging time (computer lab)
         Writing Assignment 1 due
         Final Discussion

Fri, June 19
Starting Place East Bay Coffee House
         Writing Marathon
         Presentations at end
         Lunch together
  
Weekend

Monday, June 22
         Journal Writing
         Reading Discussion
         Mini-lesson
         Writing/blogging time (computer lab)
         Writing Response Group
         Final discussion

Tuesday, June 23
         Journal Writing
         Reading Discussion
         Mini-lesson
         Writing Response Group
         Writing/blogging time (computer lab)
         Writing Assignment 2 due
         Final discussion

Wednesday, June 24
Citadel Beach House IOP
         Journal Writing
         Reading Discussion
         Guest Speaker:  Bret Lott
         Writing time
         Writing Response Group
         Author’s Chair

Thursday, June 25
         Journal Writing
         Reading Discussion
         Mini-lesson
         Writing Response Group
         Writing/blogging time (computer lab)
         Final discussion
        
Friday, June 26
Citadel Campus Last Class
         Journal
         Mini-lesson:  submit for publication (in computer lab)
         Writing/blogging time (computer lab)
         Final read around
         Assignment 3 due
         Final Discussion

Plan to meet for a dinner or lunch together and to pass out the Anthology Collection and receive back all graded assignments.
 
Course Instructor

Amy Hudock, Ph. D., is a writer, teacher, and editor who lives in South Carolina with her daughter. She is a co-founder of Literary Mama, an on-line literary magazine chosen by Writers Digest as one of the 101 Best Web Sites for Writers (2005 and 2009) and by Forbes as one of their 100 Best of the Web (2005). She is also the co-editor of Literary Mama: Reading for the Maternally Inclined (Seal Press 2006) and of the book American Women Prose Writers, 1820-1870 (Gale 2001). Her work has been anthologized in the Chicken Soup for the Soul and Cup of Comfort series, as well as in Ask Me About My Divorce, Mama, PhD, Single State of the Union, and Mothering a Movement. Read about her at www.amyhudock.com