Writing Zoom: Memoir in Easy Pieces

Writing Memoir in Easy Pieces
Three Zoom Sessions
Wed., Jan. 29, Feb. 5, 12, 2025, 6:30-8:30 pm MT

You want to record your many lived experiences, but the mere thought of it overwhelms you. In this class, Dianne Blomberg, PhD, a multi-published author, helps you trim this task into manageable bits. Students learn how to write a memoir in essay rather than full-length book form. The first two sessions include both learning the writing process and in-class generative work. This includes analyzing published memoir essays to both emulate and criticize. Does it work? If not, why not? If it works, why? Learning how to identify these specifics helps you in your own writing. Since it is not possible to write an entire life’s memoir in one essay, follow a simple bracketing process to determine exactly which slice of your life to capture. Once this is decided, you’re guided through the structure and practice of writing a short memoir essay. The final session is a celebration of your writing, a chance to hear Blomberg’s comments on your writing and, if you choose, share your work with classmates. “The purpose of this is to workshop our essays. Classmates offer praise and gentle suggestions for improvement, if any, in writing for you to read later,” Blomberg says. “This is a safe space, so sharing isn’t required.”

Dr. Dianne Blomberg’s award-winning memoir-essays and short stories are published in multiple journals and magazines, selected for “best of” anthologies and featured on podcasts. Her research on the human condition is quoted in The Wall Street Journal, Good Housekeeping, Newsday, and elsewhere. She’s the co-writer of a TV pilot rom-com, Happy Landing.