Telling Your True-Life Tale: Six-Week Writing Workshop

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Creative Nonfiction Writing Workshop with Kelly Jean Fitzsimmons (writing instructor at The Astoria Bookshop and creator of No, YOU Tell It!)

Sundays, April 3 – May 8 from 2-4pm in Astoria.

What is this workshop all about? Working on a memoir? Thinking about a one-person show? Want to get that story that always kills at your local bar down on paper? Or, craft an idea into a publishable personal essay? Perfect!

The emphasis is on generating and revising nonfiction work. Each week, participants will explore new literary techniques, discuss published work, do in-class writing games, and critique each other’s material. At the end of the workshop, there will be a group reading (for those wishing to participate) at a local bookstore, bar, or café.

Who am I? I am an award-winning essayist, and work as a writing instructor in Fairleigh Dickinson University’s College Writing Program and teach creative writing workshops at The Astoria Bookshop. I also produce No, YOU Tell It!, a “switched-up” storytelling series dedicated to performing true-life tales with a twist: Each NYTI participant develops their own story on the page and then flips scripts with a partner to present each other’s story on stage. Learn more and listen to our podcast at www.noyoutellit.com 

Who do I work with? Taking what I’ve learned from producing No, YOU Tell It!, as well as teaching at FDU and The Astoria Bookshop, I designed this workshop for anyone who wants to explore various ways to shape their true-life tale on the page.

I have worked with all kinds of writers — college students, playwrights, screenwriters, short fiction writers, songwriters, poets, monologists, and essayists — and what unites them all is a willingness to experiment and expand how they think about crafting their personal experience into an impactful written piece.

Class size is limited to 6 participants, and there are two sessions to choose from:

Price: $175 for 6 sessions, plus group reading – date/time TBD.

Email me at [email protected] with questions or sign up at http://kjfitzsimmons.signupsheet.com/