Teleseminar for NAMW Members

Judy Mandel, Linda Joy Myers, Jerry Waxler
June 20, 2014
11 AM PDT 12 PM MDT 1 PM CDT 2 PM EDT
As a memoir writer, you must transform your unstructured memories into the structure of a story. To do that, take a closer look at the way stories work, and then follow that roadmap. In this teleseminar we’ll answer the kinds of questions we typically hear from writers who are trying to find the story.

• How can I identify my most meaningful memories?
• What will my reader take away from my book?
• How do I create an interesting story?
• What techniques are the most helpful in beginning my memoir and writing a full first draft?

Three workshop leaders of the National Association of Memoir Writers are going to talk about several ways you can avoid writer’s block by understanding the role of structure, and how you can use it to help you write your memoir.

You will learn how to
1. Identify your themes and build a structure that supports it.
2. At the center of every story is a protagonist with a desire—what do you—the main character want in your story?
3. The reader has a desire too—the reader desires the protagonist to be safe, and to achieve a goal.
4. Boil down your most important memories to 10 and make a list. Put them on a timeline. Then find 10 more.
5. Create the takeaway and the narrative arc of your book—as a legacy, or a published work.
6. Free yourself from rigid rules, searching for the method that best fits your material.

Judy, Linda Joy and Jerry decided to come together to teach a workshop on structure because it’s one of the major stumbling blocks that memoir writers encounter. This workshop will address the major questions, and bring three unique approaches to developing structure.

Judy Mandel is the author of Replacement Child. In her book she created a complex and interesting weaving that makes the story read like a mystery.

Jerry Waxler, author of the Memoir Revolution, teaches classes through NAMW on how to structure a memoir. In his blog, Memory Writers Network,  he analyzes the structure of many memoirs and offers insights to help writers find their own.

Linda Joy Myers writes and teaches in a NAMW workshop, and in the intensive Write your Memoir in 6 Months. Her books The Power of Memoir and Journey of Memoir highlight the need for structure to create a publishable memoir.