Presque Isle workshop to focus on writing memoirs

5 years ago

PRESQUE ISLE, Maine — The Maine Writers & Publishers Alliance (MWPA) will offer a memoir workshop with award-winning Maine author Elizabeth Peavey from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 5, at the Turner Memorial Library in Presque Isle.  

Peavey’s “How to Frame a Life” workshop will guide participants in how to structure their memoirs, including where to start and stop their narratives, how to deal with chronology, and how much backstory to include. Participants will examine concepts related to basic story structure, such as narrative arc, conflict and crisis, thesis, time frames, and scope, and then apply these concepts to their own writing. 

Each participant will have the opportunity to give and receive feedback on a short piece.

Peavey is the author of three books, including “Maine & Me,” earned a Maine Literary Award for nonfiction. Her one-woman show, “My Mother’s Clothes Are Not My Mother,” has played to sold-out houses since 2011 and received the Maine Literary Award for drama. 

Peavey taught creative nonfiction at the University of Maine, Farmington and has taught memoir workshops at MWPA for over a decade.

Registration for the workshop closes on Sept. 26. For more information, visit www.mainewriters.org.