The Art of Telling True Stories with Paula Carter

Everyone has a story to tell — but how do you tell your story in a compelling way? In this class, we will explore the fundamentals of personal narrative and memoir writing. We will look at how craft elements, like scene and dialogue, can make a personal story come to llife, and we will discuss how to use research and reflection to deepen the meaning and understanding of a writer’s own experience. By reading work by experts in the genre, we will look at how all of these things can come together to reveal truths about what it is to be human. Students of all levels are welcome. Come prepared to write, read, discuss texts, and share your work.

Class meets in person, Monday – Friday, November 10 – 14, 1 – 4 pm.

Class size: minimum 5, maximum 12.

Member discount: Members of Write On receive a 10% discount on all classes and workshops. To become a member, please click here. To receive the discount, members must log in to the website using their unique password and enter member10 in the promotion code box. The code is case sensitive.

Teaching Artist: Paula Carter is the author of No Relation, which was shortlisted for the Stanford Libraries’ William Saroyan International Prize. Her award-winning essays have appeared in The New York Times, Kenyon Review, The Southern Review, Prairie Schooner, Creative Nonfiction, Fourth Genre, The Offing, and elsewhere. She was an Administrative Staff Fellow at the Bread Loaf Enviromental Conference in 2022 and 2023 and her work has been supported by the Illinois Arts Council, Ragdale, and the Shannaghe Artists Residency. She teaches creative writing at Northwestern University.