News flash that should reassure all aspiring memoirists out there: You aren’t, in fact, required to have experienced tragedy or trauma, or possess highly unusual or bizarre life circumstances, in order to tell a compelling story. Memoir can be entertaining—even laugh-out-loud funny!—whether based on the material, the voice, or both. On Saturday, we’ll read and discuss excerpts of published works by the likes of David Sedaris, Sloane Crosley, and Tina Fey to inspire and energize us, and investigate our own experiences with a humorist’s wry sensibility, through exercises in memory-mining, perspective, and tone. Overnight, we’ll write a short, humorous personal essay, which we’ll share and workshop on the spot on Sunday. Let’s take get over yourself to a whole new level: don’t make your readers cry—make us laugh.

Nothing to submit in advance. Open-minded introspectives who can laugh at the world and themselves, at all levels of writing experience, are welcome.

In this workshop, we will generate new writing through guided exercises and prompts; offer feedback/first impressions on writing you produce in our weekend.