I and Love and You: Writing About Significant Others in Narrative Nonfiction

It’s a big deal and responsibility to take the private energy someone has shared with us and put it on the page. How do we wield this power with care? Framing, helpful constraints, questions of relevance, and being as hard on ourselves as we are on the people we write aboutt—n this craft seminar we’ll discuss these ideas and more as we explore best practices for ethical and emotionally honest approaches to writing about significant others (spouses, ex-partners, family members, and more) in narrative nonfiction, including (though not limited to) when the writing involves difficult topics such as substance abuse and mental illness.

Writers will engage in in-class writing exercises (please bring something to write with) as well as discussions about their ideas and works.