ExpiredMemories, Reliable and Otherwise

An online version of Gigi Fenster’s popular two-day writing workshop for writers of all genres.

‘I don’t remember anything,’ my 85 year old mother said to me recently. ‘I might as well not have lived.’

Our memories give us our identity. They define who we are and how we behave in the world. And they impact deeply on our writing. Whether we are writing fiction, nonfiction, or poetry, we bring our histories and our memories to the work. But, as EB White says, ‘Real life is only one kind of life – there is also the life of the imagination’. In this two day workshop we’ll explore how our memories are triggered, how we mould and manipulate them, and how this impacts on our writing. We’ll look at how writers have used their memories, made up memories, incorporated collective memory into their work. We will do exercises designed to trigger our own memories, and to use these in developing pieces of writing. And we will use our imaginations to fill in the gaps in memories or to simply make up new ones.

Over the two weeks we will develop, workshop and share pieces of writing.

Limit of 12 participants. Please fill in this form to apply for a scholarship

Some feedback from participants in Gigi’s earlier workshop Memories, Reliable and Otherwise:

The writing exercises pushed and motivated me to write, and I feel like I’ve come away with fresh and interesting ways to approach my writing in the future.

A really fun and thought-provoking experience which sparked much inspiration, provided many avenues for further research and learning, and reinforced my dedication to writing as a craft.

For a first timer I got off my first session and just felt so high and buzzy! Smiling and laughing I felt like I could produce the next best Jojo Moyes or whatever rocks your boat. Thanks Gigi and my class that day that were all interesting and interested. I look forward to more of this.