Learning to Write Personal Narratives

In this program students will learn to tell relatable, honest stories based on their lived experiences to resonate with many, whether as they’re writing as an essayist, a poet, or any kind of storyteller. Students will deconstruct how great works of storytelling are crafted through surveying literary texts (fiction, nonfiction, poetry, songwriting, and more) to understand how to apply these skills to their own writing. 

Works from historical and contemporary women writers from many genres such as Daphne du Maurier, Adrienne Rich, Michelle Zauner, Amanda Gorman, and Taylor Swift will be covered. In the classroom, we will build a supportive and inspiring creative community while exploring identity, voice, authentic self-expression, brave storytelling, self-reflection, and confidence building. Skills developed in this program, such as literary devices, narrative structures, genre, and audience awareness, can be applied to everything from creative writing to college application essays and academic papers.