36 Best Memoir Creative Writing Classes in 2024

Put simply, life experience, combined with a desire to write, qualifies you to tell your own story. Our experiences shape us and inform our world view, and nobody navigates life without struggle. Our personal circumstances, our observations of the world, and our personalities make us all unique individuals, and therefore the narratives of our lives are just as unique.

Our lives are rich with stories passed on from families and friends. How do you decide what's material for a short story or a novel that anyone outside your family will want to read? In this generative writing intensive, we'll engage in writing exercises that help us explore this question.

In this generative class, we will be focusing on creative nonfiction and memoir–writing about the topics we have been encouraged not to bring up in “polite conversation.” Through a series of generative writing exercises, we will break through the secrecy and shame that too often accompany taboo subjects.

In her seminal piece, “Complicating the Narrative,” the journalist Amanda Ripley urges storytellers to find and include details that don’t fit the narrative—on purpose. In this three-hour workshop, we’ll apply this principle to our own writing.

Through group discussion of student work, plus that of published authors, writers in this workshop will examine the art and craft of creative nonfiction. The focus will be on learning to understand and use a full range of literary techniques in order to tell a truly compelling nonfiction story.

This 12-week interactive online course, led by Irene Graham, focuses on the art of memoir writing. It includes a memoir writing workbook, audio lessons, live group sessions, and personalized mentorship. Suitable for writers at all levels, from beginners to those revising their memoirs, the course offers a comprehensive journey into crafting a memoir​​​​.

In this workshop, students will learn the art of editing their memoir including identifying what and where to cut to streamline the plot. Students will also learn how the revising process works so that they will be able to create a product that will excel in the marketplace.

Writing a memoir can venture into emotional depths, raising questions about truth and selective storytelling. This workshop is designed for those wanting to pen their life stories or aspiring authors seeking publication, offering guidance on navigating these complex decisions.

Whether you are crafting an essay or writing a memoir, the tools of fiction can bring depth and suspense to your work. This class will cover four tools of fiction. We will examine contemporary examples of each tool used in nonfiction, and then we will practice them with generative exercises.

Learn the art of baiting the hook properly to get your short nonfiction pieces published and paid for in this four-week course. Discover how to generate saleable ideas, craft winning pitches, and connect with the right editors and publications.

Held mostly outdoors at Shelby Bottoms, this workshop combines naturalist and forest bathing techniques to enhance observation skills. Participants will engage in creative writing exercises to translate these immersive observations into vivid written descriptions.

This one-day craft intensive class (led by Lilly Dancyger) will study and discuss examples of personal/critical essays, in other words essays which examine art as a way to express personal feelings, thoughts, or experiences. The class will help you generate new writing that sits between art criticism and memoir.