Writing Your Body

In this two-week masterclass, students will examine the relationship between memory and truth through an exploration of fiction, autofiction and memoir. There will be discussion of a range of contemporary writers who blur the lines between these genres and consider which form best fits the story we want to tell. The group will examine the craft and ethics of writing from memory and lived experience. We will interrogate what it means to use the parameters of your own life to interrogate a particular question or to illuminate a truth that feels close to you.

Hear from Jessica Andrews:

We’re going to consider what it means to write from lived experience. We’ll look at the often slippery boundaries between autofiction, fiction and memoir. We’ll consider the role of emotional truth in our writing, and help you find the form that best fits the story you want to tell. 

When it comes to writing from lived experience, one of the most difficult obstacles can be worrying that your story is uninteresting or unworthy of literature. As an experiment, write a detailed account of a mundane task, such as: washing the dishes, sitting on the bus, or completing a task at work that you particularly dislike. How can you make this experience feel alive to your readers? Focus on sounds, tastes, physical sensations, and small, specific details that make this experience unique to you. Is there anything you can describe in an unexpected or unfamiliar way? 

Hopefully, this should teach you that any experience is deserving of literature, if we develop the skills with which to tell it.