Writing from your own experience

From anecdote to autobiography, the storyteller within urges us to share our recollections and experiences of life. Whether you want to write for publication, for children and grandchildren, or simply to understand the magic and meaning of your own life, this course will help you tell your tale in a way that’s lively, interesting and engaging.

We all have a rich treasury of anecdotes and memories to share. But where to start? How to shape our story? And how to write our recollections in a way that’s lively, interesting and engaging? Enjoyable exercises will help you trigger memories and focus on places, people and events that will fascinate your friends and family – or perhaps reach an even a wider audience now and in future years to come.

My Life My Story

You will learn how to:

  • Identify your audience and define your project
  • Get the memories flowing and capture your experiences in a way that engages your readers
  • Use life’s turning points and choices to create drama and suspense
  • Write convincing, natural dialogue
  • Bring experiences to life with descriptive detail
  • Learn techniques from other writers by reviewing examples of their work
  • Write faster and more fluently – and abolish writer’s block
  • Present your story with style
  • Use photos, illustrations and audio to add another dimension
  • Get your work published using new online opportunities.

Participants can expect to complete a number of short autobiographical pieces during the workshop and will have the opportunity to consider an action plan and timetable for ongoing writing.

Who should come on the course?

If you are an observer of your own life, if you learn from your experiences and want to share the lessons, if you can see the funny side of even those minor disasters that befall us all, this course is for you. It is invaluable to anyone documenting family history or simply wanting to share the stories of their own childhood and grown-up years.

Suitable for writing diaries, journals, memories and memoirs, anecdotes and autobiographical material. Aimed at all levels of writing ability – new writers particularly welcome. Experienced writers will gain new insights and techniques.

Putting Pen to Paper About Your Life

The Guild for Lifelong Learning

1 Bourne Street, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5HD

Saturday 10th Feb 2024

10am – 4pm

£45

Bookings and more information here
or enquiries about course content to Judi on 07799 644000 or via Contacts page

What People Say

“The course inspired me to have a go. I felt brave enough to share my history with fellow writers.”

Gill Michelson, Keswick

“Rejuvenating and inspiring. The course built up confidence using simple techniques. Use of tense and dialogue to bring impact was particularly well done.”

Benjamin Bradley, Bristol

“You have enabled me to shift from diary writer to story-teller, showing me how to engage my readers in ways I’d never considered.”

Margot O., Oxford

”Engaging, challenging, non prescriptive, eye-opening, brain-stretching (left and right). A beginning – not an end.”

Ann Smith, York

“It was a revelation that there are so many avenues of approach – and the one I had chosen was a cul-de-sac! Really, I would never have begun. Now I will.”
Patricia M Sharp, Felixtowe