The following workshops can be customized to meet the needs of your group. Most of them can stand alone, or they can be presented in a series. Another option is to create a one or two day workshop so participants can have an intensive memoir writing experience.
| A Miscellany of Memoir Writing Ideas | 1½–2 hrs | |
| Participants will construct their own list of story starters and have the opportunity to write scenes from their lives. This is an excellent introductory workshop—just enough to whet the appetite. | ||
| There's a First Time for Everything | 2–2½ hrs | |
| Recall the firsts in your life: first boyfriend/girlfriend, first day of school, first paycheck, first home on your own, first child. You get the idea. Make a list of the "firsts" in your life, then pick one or two and write a short (or long!) story about it. This is another good workshop for beginners. | ||
| Remembering Home | 2–2½ hrs | |
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Have fun creating "annotated" floor plans of a home you lived in. Then take the reader on a "tour" of the house by using easy writing techniques. This exercise will kindle a multitude of memories. For writing exercises that help you recall the homes of your life, see our Memory Kindling Booklet Remembering Home. |
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| Remembering Childhood | 2–2½ hrs | |
| Write several scenes from your childhood. Learn some techniques for stirring your memories about school, parents, siblings, holidays, friends and your neighborhood. | ||
| Life Timelines—Plain and Fancy | 2–2½ hrs | |
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See your whole life composed on a timeline. The draft which you will create in this workshop will be your starting point for memoir writing, reminiscing with family and friends, family reunion displays and more. You will be amazed at how much you will remember by using this simple instrument. The Life Timelines Workshop is now available in a kit! |
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| Life is a String of Typical Days | 2–2½ hrs | |
| The easiest way to write your memoirs is to do it in "bite-sized" pieces. Reconstructing typical days in your life is a great way to start. Participants will leave with a written story and a customized list of story ideas. | ||
| Work, Work, Work | 2–2½ hrs | |
| Much of our life has been dedicated to working for a living. Even those who have never been employed outside the home have worked in some way. Recall the best and worst of your working days and begin recording these stories. | ||
| The Eras of My Life |
Introductory workshop: 3 hrs–1 day |
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| This system for capturing your memoirs will provide you with enough story material to keep you writing for the rest of your life. First you use a timeline to reconstruct the major "eras" of your life. Then, with prompts from the instructor, you begin to create lists of story ideas. Depending on the length of the workshop, participants leave with one or more stories for their notebooks. (This workshop can also be presented as a series.) | ||
| Writing as Gifts | 1½–2 hrs | |
| Whether you have a few short stories or a complete family history, your writing can be turned into welcome gifts for family and friends. Get ideas for photo captioning, creating greeting cards, accordion books, photoscribing, memory books, and more. We will also explore writing a family newsletter. This is a good workshop for the early fall. | ||
| Collecting Memories |
Full Day (6–8 hrs) or Weekend Intensive |
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| This is an intensive introductory workshop on writing memoirs and family histories. Each participant will take home a workbook which he or she will personalize with thirty or more concrete ideas for gathering and presenting personal and family stories. The workbook also includes guidelines for continuing writing, as well as an annotated bibliography for additional research. These longer workshops give participants time to explore a full range of writing options. Because of the extra time involved, these workshops can be customized for each group. | ||
The following workshop titles should be considered as additions to a full day workshop or series:
| Publishing Memoirs and Family Histories | 1½–2 hrs | |
| You don't need to complete your memoirs in order to begin publishing. We will explore many ways to share your stories with friends and relatives. Topics include: memory booklets, do-it-yourself ideas, short-run publication, copying, binding methods and more. There will be ample opportunity for questions and exploring your ideas. | ||
| Starting a Memoir Writing Group | 1½–2 hrs | |
| Being a part of a group that meets regularly to share stories and inspiration will keep you writing. It is easy to start a group, and it costs little or nothing. | ||
| Photo Captioning | 1½–2 hrs | |
| Photographs are the best memory kindlers. Captioning them will preserve them in a special way for all time. Today's inexpensive photocopying and scanning techniques provide many opportunities for sharing your photos. For those with boxes of photos, we will discuss a simple method for getting them under control. Participants should bring 10–50 photographs to work with. | ||
Available later this year:
All workshops include: