Pre-register here:
https://iwwg.wildapricot.org/event-4622940Registration Deadline: June 15, 2022. This advanced workshop is limited to ten participants, assigned on a first-come, first-served basis.
Pre-registration is required by June 15 and the fee is $100. Submission Deadline: June 22, 2022.
Once you have received notice that you are registered, please submit electronically no more than five double-spaced pages of personal narrative to iwwgquestions@iwwg.org, Use the subject line: Submission for Intensive on Personal Stories. Work can be taken from a single long piece or several shorter, stand-alone pieces Be sure to include at least one of your opening paragraphs or pages and one of your closing sections. Please use Times New Roman, 12-point type and submit your work as a .doc so the instructor and other participants can add observations. Preference will be given to full-week registrants. Manuscripts will be distributed to all participants in advance of the conference.
Annie Dillard once said,
“You have to take pains not to hang on the reader’s arms, like a drunk, and say ‘And then I did this and it was so interesting’.” What is it, exactly, that can make your personal narrative truly engaging? Not simply a recollection of your experience or an information dump. Working together we will be looking at how to find the kernel, the heart of your story, the image or concept that teems with life, even at its most deceptively subdued. Using this kernel, we will then explore and apply ten techniques useful for writing the openings, middles, and closings of your own personal essays, autobiographical short stories, and memoirs. Personal stories can be made to matter; this workshop demonstrates how. Participants are invited to submit ahead of time up to 5 pages of their own personal writing to foster collaboration and focus feedback.
