Life writing with Sally Cline in partnership with Stratford-upon-Avon Literary Festival 2015

The best life writing lets us time travel into the past, or gain insights into a person’s interior world. If you have a personal story to tell, this course will show you how to find an original way to tell it. Celebrated biographer and fiction writer Sally Cline will introduce you to the genre of life writing and the different models it offers. You may be interested in sharing details of your family history, or writing an autobiographical story that future generations can learn from.

Using her extensive experience as a writer and teacher, Sally will explain the differences between more traditional autobiographies and more experimental approaches, helping you to choose the style that works for you. Whether you want to write a ‘cradle to grave’ memoir, or a more novelistic work based on moments or events, you’ll learn how to transform your experiences into stories that will captivate an audience.

You’ll get involved in practical exercises covering the different types of life writing, as well as common themes such as travel, family history, illness, politics, people and place. Importantly, you’ll also learn about the ethics of autobiographical writing, and the possibilities and challenges of putting your life into print.

This course is for you if…

• You want to write a life story that makes the real even more exciting than fiction
• You want to start writing your autobiography but aren’t sure where to begin
• You want to write a story or book about key moments or events in your life
• You have experience writing in another field or genre and want to move into life writing
• You have started writing your memoir and want guidance on the key components of the genre

Course description

This interactive course teaches attendees the key elements of good life writing. It is suitable for anyone who wants to write a memoir, autobiography or more experimental book based on real-life experiences. Attendees will get involved in practical exercises, with opportunity for feedback on individual work. Topics covered on the day include:

• The different models of life writing: from ‘cradle to grave’ narratives to the new biography
• Common themes and subjects, including travel, illness, childhood, divorce, politics, money, special people and places
• An introduction to using family history in your writing
• The possibilities and challenges of the new biography – how to make your writing experimental, imaginative and novelistic
• How to use key events, moments and experiences in your life to craft compelling narratives
• How to establish a voice and historical vantage point
• The ethics of autobiography
• The power and the dangers of putting your life into print
• Practical exercises, with time for constructive feedback

Tutor profile

Dr Sally Cline is a biographer and short fiction writer who has authored 13 books. Her biographical work includes Radclyffe Hall: A Woman Called John, Zelda Fitzgerald: Her Voice in Paradise and the ground-breaking double biography of Lillian Hellman and Dashiell Hammett. Sally co-authored Bloomsbury’s classic Life Writing: Writing Biography, Autobiography and Memoir, the first standalone book in the UK on the subject. As well as being a prolific writer, Sally is a highly experienced tutor and academic, having taught at Cambridge University for many years. In 2006, she was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Letters from Anglia Ruskin, Cambridge for her internationally-renowned writing. Sally is the recipient of the BBC Short Story Prize and is a Judge of the HW Fisher Biography Prize.

Full course and returns information on the Masterclasses website