Cooper Street Workshop: Finding the Plot in Memoir

ABOUT THE WORKSHOP

Whether it’s an essay or a book, a memoir project is built out of the stuff of your own life–but memoir still benefits from the engine of a plot to pull your reader through! In this workshop, we’ll try out several approaches to finding the plot in your own life. If you’ve got a great story to tell but you’re having trouble putting it all together, you’ll leave with a toolkit of strategies and approaches to build your project. Bring your messy draft or a collection of good ideas; we’ll work together to give it a shape.

ABOUT THE INSTRUCTOR

Nancy Reddy is the author of The Good Mother Myth, published by St. Martin’s Press in January 2025. Her previous books include the poetry collection Pocket Universe and the anthology The Long Devotion: Poets Writing Motherhood, which she co-edited with Emily Pérez. Her essays have appeared in Slate, Poets & Writers, Romper, The Millions, and elsewhere. She writes the newsletter Be Less Careful. You can find her on Instagram at nancy.o.reddy.

This is a virtual workshop held on Zoom. To create a sense of community, participants should plan to have their cameras on for this workshop.