Service FinderIf Patrick Stewart can #MakeItSo, we believe you can too.
However, writing a memoir isn’t for the feint hearted.
It requires bravery, unflinching honesty, and the ability to turn your life lessons into universal truths. And, if you’re writing to document your life for future generations, how do present your life in a fresh, insightful, and authentic way? We believe you can with a few fresh adventures and laughs granted within this 8 week program.
Everyone has a book in them it has been said, however Sir Martin Amis, novelist, noted in his memoir Experience (2000), in fact what everyone seems to have in them “is not a novel but a memoir … We are all writing it or at any rate talking it: the memoir, the apologia, the CV, the cri de coeur.”
Memoirs are generally written to make sense of your life or to narrate a piece of family history.
Writing in small sketches, tiny vignettes of a few sentences is so much easier than considering a whole book. When you think of your life, you could also examine it from the point of view of where you were on important days in history or of the accomplishments of which you have been the most proud. And don’t worry, the thought of writing a life retrospective can daunt even the most experienced writer, so it is small wonder that it might feel too huge to even start.
You are encouraged to find ways of writing which will help the reader along, especially if you have a complex plot and a large cast list. In your own memoirs, you are our guide, and we (your family or reader) will need to be able to follow you. Your program facilitator will encourage you to use the same storytelling devices that novelists use – plot, character, voice, motif and structure.
It’s all about trying something new and creating meaningful connections.
We believe that life gets even more vibrant as we age, and this spring, we’re bringing you a line-up of unforgettable activities that will make you feel more alive than ever by Summer!
All activity resources are supplied, so all you need to do, is book yourself in…
- Workshops are facilitated by experienced ECH staff.
- Each program is designed to be attended over the 8 weeks: from 16 October to 15 December.
- Subsidised government funding is available for anyone 65 years and over – ask us how!
- For more information or to book, check the event listing “Writing Memoirs“
REFERENCES
WIKI: Sir Martin Amis
On writing, Amis said in 2014: “I think of writing as more mysterious as I get older, not less mysterious. The whole process is very weird … It is very spooky.”[117]
Making it So, A Memoir by Patrick Stewart
Sir Patrick Stewart is a distinguished stage and screen actor whose illustrious career spans six decades. A classically trained theater artist who got his start at England’s Royal Shakespeare Company, Stewart’s legendary performances have garnered him three Olivier Awards, Emmy and Tony Award nominations, and a Grammy Award, among countless honors. His beloved screen work, known to audiences worldwide, includes his iconic portrayals of Star Trek’s Jean-Luc Picard and X-Men’s Professor Charles Xavier. Follow him on social media at @SirPatStew
Posted: September 25, 2023