Personal Narrative Essentials: Summary and Reflective Voice - Remote!

Class Description

Whether you're working on short form personal essay or book-length memoir, writers of personal narrative need to master the two often overlooked narrative modes: summary voice, and reflective voice. Summary is used to provide background, backstory and a compression of narrative time. Reflective voice (sometimes called the "retrospective narrator") is that "sense-making" voice of the writer reflecting back over events and experiences, connecting the dots, or even musing and pondering, often from the distance of passed time and wisdom. We'll look at exemplary work from writers such as George Orwell, Leslie Jamison, Michelle Kuo, Cheryl Strayed, Amitava Kumar, Ryan van Meter, and others, in order to get our brains around first, what is summary and reflective voice, and second, what makes for good examples of each and how to deploy them for the best effect. Then you'll get a chance to practice writing in these modes. By the end of the seminar you will have written first draft of a few solid passages that you can use in any personal narratives you might be working on.

Part of The Personal Narrative Essentials series taught by Ethan Gilsdorf. Take every class in the series or simply choose the craft topics that are relevant to the challenges you face in your work. Classes include:

• Personal Narrative Essentials: The Close-Up Detail (January 29th)

• Personal Narrative Essentials: Building Characters (February 12th)

• Personal Narrative Essentials: Structure and Form (February 26th)

About GrubStreet Remote Classes

This class will be hosted using live Zoom meetings! You will be able to participate in class via Zoom videoconference from wherever you’re most comfortable. All you’ll need is a laptop or a phone! About 15 minutes before your class is scheduled to begin, you'll receive an email from your instructor with a link to join the class meeting via Zoom–no need to download anything or sign up for Zoom in advance! If you have questions about remote learning, please feel free to reach out to [email protected] for more information.

For a glimpse at how remote learning works, look no further than the deep Zoom discussion of writing and literature below:

Scholarship Information

Thanks to the excellent literary citizenship of our donors, scholarships are available for all GrubStreet classes. To apply, click the gray "APPLY FOR SCHOLARSHIP" button. In order to be considered for a scholarship, you must complete your application at least one week before the start date of a class. Please await our scholarship committee's decision before registering for the class. We cannot hold spots in classes, so the sooner you apply, the better. Scholarships cannot be applied retroactively.

For more more detailed information about GrubStreet scholarships, including how to contribute to scholarship funds for other students, click here.