Memoirs are made of this
Did you ever have an experience that you thought would make the basis for a good memoir but were not sure how to begin? Or have you started a memoir but have been stopped by narrative challenges?
Join the Willamette Writers Coast Chapter for a memoir writing workshop taught by Christopher Luna at Newport Public Library this Saturday, March 16.
The workshop is open to both beginners and seasoned writers, and will include plenty of time for generative writing.
Those who are already writing a memoir will leave with a potential chapter and some ideas about structuring a manuscript. Those new to memoir will leave with ideas for how to begin.
Luna will introduce basic concepts and methods including a writing exercise to help participants use their life experiences as the basis for compelling creative non-fiction. Those who are willing will be invited to share the rough draft they created to initiate discussion of how to write and organize a book-length memoir.
Luna will also discuss challenges in writing memoir as they arise, such as reactions of family members, research, identifying themes for the book and whether or not to tell the story chronologically.
A poet, editor, writing coach and teacher, Luna served as the inaugural Poet Laureate of Clark County from 2013 to 2017. He has an MFA from the Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied Poetics and is the co-founder of Printed Matter Vancouver, an editing service and small press for Northwest writers. He and Morgan Paige co-host the LGBTQ+ friendly, all ages and uncensored Ghost Town Poetry Open Mic in Vancouver, Washington, founded in 2004.
Luna’s books include “Voracity,” “Exchanging Wisdom: A Guide for Parents of the Autonomous” written with his son Angelo, “Message from the Vessel in a Dream,” “Brutal Glints of Moonlight,” and “The Flame Is Ours: The Letters of Stan Brakhage and Michael McClure 1961-1978.”
Saturday’s workshop runs from 2 to 4:30 pm at Newport Public Library, located at 35 NW Nye Street. For more information, go to willamettewriters.org.