Writing Personal Stories that Matter

Writing Personal Stories that Matter

Annie Dillard once said, “You have to take pains not to hang on the reader’s arms, like a drunk, and say ‘And then I did this and it was so interesting.’ ” What is it, exactly, that makes personal narrative truly engaging? Working together we will be looking at how to find the kernel, the image or concept at the heart of your story. From this kernel, we will explore and apply several techniques useful for writing your openings, middles, and closings. Short submissions of no more than one page are invited but not required. This workshop provides a roadmap for both you and your readers, guideposts to keep them reading and you writing.

Former board chair of the International Women’s Writing Guild, Judith Huge has taught for many Guild summer conferences . For the past ten years, she has conducted writing workshops for the OLLI Program at the University of South Florida. Published internationally in Traveler’s Tales, she is co-author of 101 Ways You Can Help, a guide for providing thoughtful support to those who are grieving.