Description
“Truth is so hard to tell, it sometimes needs fiction to make it plausible.”
—Francis Bacon
When Tara McGuire’s son Holden died of an overdose, she felt compelled to write about the effect his death had on her—even though she didn’t know what had happened. These “blank spaces” often block writers from engaging with and completing personal narratives in which some facts are missing.
More and more, writers are breaking through the confines of genre to create more meaningful, creative, and indeed, “truer” works that defy categorization.
This workshop will explore how to develop plot lines and shape scenes we have never witnessed. We’ll learn craft devices to help navigate uncertainty and the ethical responsibility of personal stories—for example, autofiction or what McGuire calls “informed fiction,” which is commonly used, and the “chain of responsibility,” where writers can intentionally hybridize plot to include fiction.
We’ll break down limiting beliefs, calm nerves, invigorate our memoir’s momentum, and be set free.
