Writing Lives: Mastering Memoirs, Autobiographies and Biographies
- Level(s) of Study: Short course
- Course Fee:
£435 or £450
- Start Date(s): 12 August 2024, 10 October 2024 and 23 January 2025
- Duration: Thursdays 6 - 8.30 pm, ten weeks or Monday - Friday, 10 am - 4 pm, five days
- Study Mode(s): Short course
- Campus: City Campus
- Entry Requirements:
More information
Introduction:
Do you want to write a memoir, autobiography, or a biography, but don’t know where to start?
Embark on a journey to unravel the intricate strands of your life story or bring the story of your family history to light through the power of the written word and acquire practical techniques to craft a compelling and captivating personal narrative for a manuscript.
Whether you’re an experienced writer or a complete beginner, this course is your gateway to chronicle yours or another’s life into a written manuscript.
This course will equip you with indispensable tools and the expert guidance you need to start writing a life story, enabling you to join up the dots and chronicle stories for future generations to read and savour.
Along the way you’ll experience the great joys of telling your story, as you delve into your own experiences and unleash the power of memories and records onto the pages of your manuscript.
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Benefit from learning with an experienced tutor who has established links to the profession. -
Be part of a creative writing community; one that promotes discussion and collaboration and encourages experimentation and the constant swapping of ideas. -
You will receive a certificate of attendance on successful completion of the course. -
With a limited class size, you'll have the one-to-one attention you need to ensure you leave with the skills to continue developing your writing after the course.
What you’ll study
Immerse yourself in a series of hands-on creative writing exercises that will introduce and reinforce elements of the life writing principles and engage in constructive feedback on your writing from your tutor and your peers, designed to help you to refine your work and empower you to embrace your abilities as a life writer.
During this course, you will:
- identify pivotal themes, impactful moments and significant events in your life to weave in your writing
- develop and cultivate an authentic voice and distinctive style that reflects your personality and experiences
- use vivid sensory details and evocative imagery to breathe life into your memories or family records
- navigate the ethical challenges of writing about real people and events
- structure your narrative in a way that engages readers and creates a satisfying arc.
Here’s a breakdown of what you’ll be studying during the course.
- Sessions 1 – 4: Start with ‘Why…?’ and plan to write your story
- Sessions 5 – 8: Accessing memories for emotive and evocative writing
- Sessions 9 - 10: Reviewing, critiquing and publishing
You’ll identify your reasons for writing; the more persuasive and powerful your reason, the easier it will become to write.
- The difference between memoirs, autobiographies, and biographies, identifying your audience, what kind of story are you writing and why.
- Planning strategies, turning your plan into a structure, the seven types of stories and how your life story fits in.
- Putting some meat on the bones and identifying the moments that pull the story together.
- Effective openings, building in drama and tension, themes, and resolutions.
Focusing on the feeling and emotions behind your story, you’ll be challenged to make your writing richer.
- Accessing memories and the balance between representing the past accurately without being constrained by facts.
- Tone of voice exercises to tell your story.
- Mastering atmosphere through style and technique, foreshadowing, authentic dialogue, making the people in the story live and breath.
- Telling sad and difficult stories, talking about flaws and mistake, honesty and the heroic narrative.
You’ll review your writing so far and have the opportunity to peer review a chapter of your work.
There will also be the chance for the tutor to provide feedback on your manuscript.
- Revising and editing your writing, drafts and re-drafting.
- Print, publishing and self-publishing. Tips, advice and key takeaways from the course.
Further information on what you'll study
Above all, this course is designed to help you relish in the sheer pleasure of writing and the profound satisfaction of sharing your finished book with others.
You’ll leave with an understanding of the genre of life writing and will have already started writing your story by the end of the course – as well as being well on your way to completing it – with a collection of drafts and exercises to continue working on your writing after the course.
Life stories deserves to be remembered, and this course is your launchpad to making that happen.
How you’re taught
During the sessions you’ll be taught the basics of structuring your story, with tasks and activities to complete with support from the tutor.
This course will be delivered in person on Nottingham Trent University city campus.
Contact hours
You will receive 25 contact hours of quality tuition with an experienced tutor.
Careers and employability
The course is designed to prepare you to succeed in writing your own life story and is equally beneficial if you’d like to start writing for a career.
On successful completion of the course you will receive a certificate of attendance, which will further enhance your CV.
Are you interested in progressing your writing?
Find out more about our undergraduate and postgraduate courses:
Campus and facilities
You will be studying creative writing in a UNESCO City of Literature, and be based in the School of Arts and Humanities on the City Campus.
You will find modern teaching spaces and quiet study environments to develop your ideas and writing.
You will receive an email one week before the course starts with joining instructions on where to go for the first day.
You’ll also have access to our library to use outside of your short course; whilst you can’t reserve or take away books, you are welcome to use them as a resource for research and referencing.
Entry requirements
Level: Beginner
Entry requirement: No experience is required.
You must be over the age of 18 in order to attend this course.
Getting in touch
If you need more help or information, get in touch through our enquiry form
Level: Beginner
Entry requirement: No experience is required.
You must be over the age of 18 in order to attend this course.
Fees and funding
The fee for this course is £435 or £450.
Payment is due at the time of booking - ask us if you'd prefer an invoice sent to your company.
Your course fees cover the cost of studies and include great benefits such as the use of our modern library.
You will need to bring with you a notebook, pen, or laptop if you prefer to write using one.
You can read the terms and conditions of booking here.
The fee for this course is £435 or £450.
Payment is due at the time of booking - ask us if you'd prefer an invoice sent to your company.
Your course fees cover the cost of studies and include great benefits such as the use of our modern library.
You will need to bring with you a notebook, pen, or laptop if you prefer to write using one.
You can read the terms and conditions of booking here.
How to apply
You can book this course via the NTU online store:
Weekday course (12 - 16 August 2024)
Evening course (10 October - 12 December 2024)
Evening course (23 January - 27 March 2025)
You can book this course via the NTU online store: