Advanced Craft Workshop: Finding Your Structure
Struggling to figure out how your memoir or nonfiction story takes shape? In this intimate class, we'll explore a few nontraditional story structures and zero in on which one is right for you.
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This class is now sold out, but we will offer a new session as soon as there are enough students on the advance wait list. If you’re interested in taking this class, join the wait list and we’ll let you know as soon as we’re able to offer a new session.
Cost: $275
Class Size Limit: 10
The traditional narrative arc is a classic way to structure a piece of writing, but sometimes it doesn't fit for what we are trying to say. And, there are many other forms and shapes that our writing can take.
In this three-part class, author Kristina Gaddy will lead students to examine the ways that other top nonfiction writers structure their work in both conventional and unconventional ways. Sometimes, with the right scaffolding, a piece becomes easier to write, revise, and understand.
Students will come to the first session having read a few contemporary essays, and together, we will examine the structure of those essays as well as other classic nonfiction texts. You will learn unconventional structures, including those explored in Jane Alison's Meander, Spiral, Explode, and how the structure adds to the piece as a whole.
In the second session, you will consider the story you are trying to tell, figure out your current structure, and begin a practice exercise for revising a work of shorter or longer nonfiction to understand improvements to your structure.
The third session is a 20-minute one-on-one with the instructor to discuss specific questions and challenges you are facing and work through your structure.
This is a small class with just 10 seats, and every student will have a chance to discuss their own project and get feedback.
This class is right for you if…
You’ve been working on a shorter or longer piece of nonfiction or memoir and are struggling with structure.
You’ve published nonfiction writing and want to explore more unconventional forms and shapes in your writing .
You’re working on a longer piece and feel you need to organize it in a more compelling manner.
The first two sessions of this class take place on Saturday, May 2 and Saturday May 9 at 10am ET. The third session will be a one-on-one meeting for 20 minutes, scheduled on Saturday, May 16.
All Narratively Academy classes are conducted online and are accessible to students anywhere in the world. This class will be recorded and shared with all enrolled students, but live attendance and participation is strongly encouraged.
Instructor Bio: Kristina R. Gaddy is the author of Well of Souls: Uncovering the Banjo’s Hidden History and Flowers in the Gutter: The True Story of the Edelweiss Pirates, Teenagers Who Resisted the Nazis. Her essay in Narratively about Jewish teenagers before WWII won the American Society of Journalists and Authors 2022 Best Reported Essay. Her essay “Intersection Landscapes” appears in the anthology A Harp in the Stars (Nebraska 2021) and her personal writing has appeared in The Washington Post, The Baltimore Sun, Museum of Americana and Fearsome Critters. She is one of the editors of true, a literary journal that explores the craft of nonfiction. She lives in Baltimore and has taught writing locally and presented about nonfiction craft at national writing conferences.
Registration Details: Seats in this class are limited and available on a first-come, first-serve basis. Prior to the start of your class you’ll receive an invitation to access the virtual classroom and view all class materials.
Cancellation Policy:
Full refund when canceling 7 or more days before the class start date.
50% refund when canceling less than 7 days before the class start date.
No cancellations after the class start date.
Questions? Email us at academy@narratively.com.
More: Check out all of our Narratively Academy online writing classes here.