THE WRITERS INSTITUTE
Da Chen
Master Workshop on Writing Memoir
4 days: Wednesday, May 2 - Saturday, May 5,
9 a.m. - 12 noon
Course will take place at Miami Dade College, Wolfson Campus
Want to register? Click here for instructions.
This workshop will examine all elements of personal memoir writing in great detail and depth, befitting a master class Chen teaches at NYU and Fairfield University's Low-Residency MFA in Creating Writing.
This course aims to teach writers how to build theme: the reason for writing the book; develop pearl strings of scenes and storylines from memory; find voice and point of view; develop dialogues; define settings; establish narrative moments; establish suitable tones and find proper diction and prose style. Participants will also explore Chen's nine essential elements of memoir structure in order to help attendees master the form, and will discuss errors and common mistakes in writing.
A series of in-class writing exercises will help attendees (1) find stories from their memories, sifting through fogginess of their past to find resonating truth; (2) hone skills in writing scenes, dialogue and reflections; (3) develop skills in shaping the structure of the narrative.
All exercises will be read out loud by the author in class and will be workshopped by all, including Chen.
Each student must submit a 10-page sample of memoir writing by April 2. Feedback on an attendee's submission is essential to this workshop. All submissions will be workshopped at length in class, with verbal and written critiques from me and other workshop participants.
Samples must be printed out in standard publishing format-double space and proper marginalization. Copies be made available to all participants, including me, a month before workshop. Please submit to Nicole Swift Nicole.Swift@mdc.edu. All students are expected to provide thoughtful but never rude written comments on the craftsmanship of writing samples.
Click here for manuscript preparation guidelines.
Da Chen is a leading memoirist and literary novelist. He is the author of much-heralded, New York Times best-selling memoirs, Colors of the Mountain and Sounds of the River, and the novel, Brothers. His books have been widely translated and are used as textbooks in Yale, Vassar, Wellesley, in the New York State University system, and in high schools and middle schools throughout the country. His newest novel, My Last Empress, will be published next year. Chen is the recipient of the NCSS 2010 Spirit of America Award and the 2007 Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature by the American Librarians Association.
His first fiction for young readers, Wandering Warrior, published by Random House Children's Books, is described by USA Today as "China's answer to [Harry] Potter." China's Son, the children's adaptation of Da Chen's memoir (2002), was a Borders Original Voices Award finalist, American Library Association Best Books for Young Adults final nominee, New York Public Library Book For the Teen Age List, and PBS TeacherSource recommended book. Chen recieved the 2007 Rip Van Winkle Award for outstanding contributions to Children's Literature by the New York Library Association.
Date and Time
Wednesday, May 2 - Saturday, May 5
9 a.m. - 12 noon
This is a non-credit course.