What's Your Story? - A Year of Memoir with Patricia Ann McNair

Why take A Year of Memoir

You have a story to tell, don’t you? Perhaps you have begun to tell that story, started to put it on the page. Perhaps you are trying to figure out where to start. Maybe you are looking for a community of writers, for support and structure. Wherever you are in the process of writing your memoir, this year-long course can benefit you.

Applicants will be selected to join a community of ten writers (maximum) with a variety of experiences and interests, and at various stages in the process of writing a book-length memoir.

In addition, you will;

Meet remotely as a group for 10 five-hour sessions during 2023 to talk about the genre and its challenges and rewards, consider issues of craft, study models, and respond to prompts in order to generate new work and reinvigorate work-in-progress.
Meet in-person in June on the lovely campus of Interlochen Center for the Arts for a two-day retreat that will include peer review workshops, craft panel with guests, a participant reading, and individual conferences with instructor. This retreat will take place adjacent to the Interlochen College of Creative Arts Writers Retreat.
You will be provided deadlines and open assignments each month inspired by our reading and engagement with a curated selection of memoir material; connect with a personal accountability small group throughout the year to share work and talk through concerns and strategies.
Meet your instructor, Patricia Ann McNair, for two one-on-one comprehensive reviews of sections of your work-in-progress—mid-year (in-person) and in December 2023 (remotely).
Build a discovery draft toward a book-length memoir manuscript (told in chapters, sections, or individual essays).
Participate in a final (remote) reading from work-in-progress. The range of topics we will cover is vast, but will include creating a writing habit, discovering the “aboutness” of things, throwing off the self-censorship monkey, creative willingness and the risk of exposure, finding the “extra” in your (extra)ordinary content, how to handle “their” stories while telling yours, structure and experimentation, revision as further discovery, preliminary market research, and more.

Course Dates: Jan. 14 - Dec. 9, 2023
Early Course Fee: $2,400 (If application received on or before through Nov. 1, 2022)
Course Fee: $2,800 (If application received after Nov. 1, 2022)
Course Location: Online and Mallory-Towsley Center for Arts Leadership
Application Deadline: Nov. 15, 2022 (See below for application requirements)

Special note: every writer has their own process and is responsible for their own progress, but the course is designed to facilitate making a significant draft through assignments and deadlines. For some writers this will mean 100-200 pages of new discoveries and words, for others, this may mean the polishing and completion of a draft-in-progress, for others still, the work accomplished may fall somewhere in-between or outside of these parameters. What’s Your Story? will focus on process and product; each writer will determine through practice how this will affect the work they are making.

SCHEDULE
Jan. 14, 2023 (Via Zoom)

10:00 – 10:30 am: Check In, Zoom check
10:30 – 12:30 pm: Introductions, brief overview, writing activities
12:30 – 1:15 - Lunch
1:15 – 2:45 – DIGGING IN, DIGGING UP: Literary models, prompts, writing activities
2:45 – 3:00 – Break
3:00 – 4:30 – Sharing of work, further overview of course and expectations, assignments and suggestions for further study, Q&A

Feb. 11, 2023 (Via Zoom)

10:30 – 12:30 – Sharing of work-in-progress, discussion of models and assignments, progress and process, study of literary models
12:30 – 1:15 – Lunch
1:15 – 2:45 – EXPLORATIONS AND EXPERIMENTATIONS: Literary models, prompts, writing activities
2:45 – 3:00 – Break
3:00 – 4:30 – Writing time, sharing of work and peer response, assignments and suggestions for further study, Q&A

March 11, 2023 (Via Zoom)

10:30 – 12:30 – Sharing of work-in-progress, discussion of models and assignments, progress and process, study of literary models
12:30 – 1:15 – Lunch
1:15 – 2:45 – DISCOVERING AND UNCOVERING PATTERNS: Literary models, prompts, writing activities
2:45 – 3:00 – Break
3:00 – 4:30 – Writing time, sharing of work and peer response, assignments and suggestions for further study, Q&A

April 8, 2023 (Via Zoom)

10:30 – 12:30 – Sharing of work-in-progress, discussion of models and assignments, progress and process, study of literary models
12:30 – 1:15 – Lunch
1:15 – 2:45 – WHAT’S IT ALL ABOUT?: Literary models, prompts, writing activities
2:45 – 3:00 – Break
3:00 – 4:30 – Writing time, sharing of work and peer response, assignments and suggestions for further study, Q&A

May 6, 2023 (Via Zoom)

10:30 – 12:30 – Sharing of work-in-progress, discussion of models and assignments, progress and process, study of literary models
12:30 – 1:15 – Lunch
1:15 – 2:45 – NAVIGATING THE MESSY MIDDLES: Literary models, prompts, writing activities
2:45 – 3:00 – Break
3:00 – 4:30 – Writing time, sharing of work and peer response, assignments and suggestions for further study, guidelines for in-person workshops, Q&A

June 3, 2023 (In Person)

9:45 – 10:00 - Registration
10:00 – 10:45 – In-person introductions Meet & Greet, Q&A
10:45 – 11:00 – Break
11:00 – 12:30 – Workshop pt 1
12:30 – 2:00 – Lunch
2:00 – 3:00 – Workshop pt 2
3:00 – 3:15 – Break
3:15 – 4:30 – Craft Panel with Guests
5:30 – Individual one-on-one conferences to be scheduled

June 4, 2023 (In Person)

9:00 – 10:30 - Workshop pt 3
10:30 – 10:45 – Break
10:45 – 12:00 - Workshop pt 4
12:00 – 1:30 – Lunch
1:30 – 2:45 Individual one-on-one conferences to be scheduled (writing time)
2:45 – 4:30 - Participant Reading, Q&A, Final Remarks
5:00 – Individual one-on-one conferences

July 8, 2023 (Via Zoom)

10:30 – 12:30 – Sharing of work-in-progress, discussion of models and assignments, progress and process, study of literary models
12:30 – 1:15 – Lunch
1:15 – 2:45 – REVISING IS NOT EDITING, EDITING IS NOT REVISING: prompts, writing activities
2:45 – 3:00 – Break
3:00 – 4:30 – Writing time, sharing of work and peer response, assignments and suggestions for further study, Q&A

Aug. 12, 2023 (Via Zoom)

10:30 – 12:30 – Sharing of work-in-progress, discussion of models and assignments, progress and process, study of literary models
12:30 – 1:15 – Lunch
1:15 – 2:45 – NOW I KNOW: Literary models, prompts, writing activities
2:45 – 3:00 – Break
3:00 – 4:30 – Writing time, sharing of work and peer response, assignments and suggestions for further study, Q&A

Sept. 9, 2023 (Via Zoom)

10:30 – 12:30 – Sharing of work-in-progress, discussion of models and assignments, progress and process, study of literary models
12:30 – 1:15 – Lunch
1:15 – 2:45 – FORM AND FUNCTION, STRUCTURE AND CONTENTS: Literary models, prompts, writing activities
2:45 – 3:00 – Break
3:00 – 4:30 – Writing time, sharing of work and peer response, assignments and suggestions for further study, Q&A

Oct. 14, 2023 (Via Zoom)

10:30 – 12:30 – Sharing of work-in-progress, discussion of models and assignments, progress and process, study of literary models
12:30 – 1:15 – Lunch
1:15 – 2:45 – MIND THE GAPS: prompts, writing activities
2:45 – 3:00 – Break
3:00 – 4:30 – Writing time, sharing of work and peer response, assignments and suggestions for further study, Q&A

Nov. 11, 2023 (Via Zoom)

10:30 – 12:30 – Sharing of work-in-progress, discussion of models and assignments, progress and process, study of literary models
12:30 – 1:15 – Lunch
1:15 – 2:45 – WORK PLANS AND WHAT NEXT?: prompts, writing activities
2:45 – 3:00 – Break
3:00 – 4:30 – Memoir market place, assignments and suggestions for further study, Q&A

December 9, 2023 (Via Zoom)

1:30 – 4:30 Final Participant Reading, final remarks

While we anticipate writers of a variety of levels to participate in this year-long course, admittance is competitive. You must be selected on the basis of your application.

To apply:
Write and submit a letter addressing why you are interested in this course, your previous writing experience, a few of your goals. Is this a manuscript you hope to publish, or is it something you want to do for yourself and/or your family? (250 – 1000 words.)

Submit a brief (250 – 500 words) description of the project you are interested in working on. Some things that might help you (please note that your answers to these questions may change as you discover more): What period of your life do you think you want to cover? Ages, dates? What are some of the defining moments of that time you want to work with? Is there a memoir you’ve read that inspires or influences this work?

Submit no more than five pages, double-spaced, twelve-point font of a creative sample of writing. Ideally this will be from the material you are hoping to explore and develop over the course of the year, but may be something else (fiction or nonfiction) that is indicative of your writing. This may be an excerpt of something longer or a self-contained, short piece. Make sure to put your name on each submission, and page numbers on each page of your creative sample.

Submit materials via email to college@interlochen.org

To use Zoom, you will need access to a computer (preferred) or mobile device with internet access. This is a list of basic system requirements.

Screen Size

Zoom are best viewed at a minimum screen size of 11+ inches. If you want to use a device with a smaller screen, we recommend using the mobile apps for Zoom.

Operating Systems

macOS 10.13 or newer (Interlochen recommends Apple products)
Windows 10
chromeOS
Apple iOS or Android

Computer Speed and Processor

Use a Mac or PC 5 years old or newer if possible. While it is possible to use an iPad or mobile device, the experience will be better for you on a laptop or desktop.
If using a laptop, it should have the following specifications:
At least 4GB of RAM
At least 2GHz processor

Internet Speed

Minimum of 1.5Mbps download and 800Kbps upload

Faculty

Patricia Ann McNair

Artistic Director of Writers Retreat, Instructor of Creative Writing, Interlochen College of Creative Arts