How to capture personal stories as memorable memoirs: how to share your memoir with others

Description

A new series of three beginner-friendly memoir writing workshops run by bestselling author and certified book coach, Emma Dhesi, hosted by The Arienas Collective in Edinburgh’s City Centre New Town.

The workshops are designed to inspire and guide you in writing your personal stories. Whether you’re reflecting on your own life, or capturing someone else’s story, the workshops will show you how to turn key memories into memorable and immersive stories that resonate emotionally, and leave a lasting impression on the reader - be it written for family members only, or a story you may wish to publish more widely.

The morning and evening options offer you the chance to drop in at a date and time to suit. Each workshop will focus on a different element of memoir writing - check the workshop title to see what we'll be covering on each date.

The workshops don’t need to be done in any particular order, and all are suitable for whatever stage you are at with your storytelling.

Over the course of workshops, you will learn about writing personal stories through exploring three main areas: what your memoir is all about; how to plan and write your memoir; and how to share your story with others.

What your memoir is really about

This session will focus on identifying what your memoir is really about. We will explore:

How to plan your memoir

Using personal memories and objects as inspiration, this session will cover the 4 basics of dialogue; scene setting; character building and structure. We will explore:

How to share your memoir with others

This session will focus on ways of sharing your story with others from family members to publishing it more widely. We will explore:

What to bring

You don’t need to bring anything—just your ideas and enthusiasm! However, if you have specific memories or objects you’d like to write about, please bring those along for inspiration. You are also welcome to your own notebook, and any writing you’ve already begun.

What's included

All the materials you need are included in the price, along with an ongoing supply of Shibui tea and Mr Eion coffee to keep you refreshed. A set of notes will be emailed to you after the workshop.

Earth conscious credentials

We are mindful of the effect we have on the environment, and do our best to minimise our impact. Your workshop correspondence and notes are sent to you electronically, and if you already have your own notebooks we encourage you to bring these with you to the workshop.

More information

The Arienas Collective workshops, courses and events are run from a welcoming and supportive environment within a Georgian mews home in Edinburgh’s City Centre New Town. We invite you to join us, leave any day-to-day worries behind and immerse yourself in being creative.

Spaces on our workshops and courses are limited so that our creative team of artists and makers can offer you the hands-on help and support you need to make the most of your time with us.

Our taster and introductory workshops focus on teaching creative skills and methods you can continue practising at home, using affordable materials and equipment. Where more expensive equipment is required we will mention this in the workshop description.

All the equipment and materials you need are included in the price, unless stated otherwise.

Light refreshments from local suppliers are provided. On full day workshops you are welcome to bring your own lunch to eat inside or out. There is also a wide range of independent sit-in or takeaway delis, cafés, and restaurants, plus a range of supermarkets all within a 5-10 minute walk.

Accessibility

The workshop space is on the first-floor of our Georgian mews home and unfortunately we do not have lift access. Blue badge holders can park outside our front door on the single yellow line by arrangement.

Allergies

The workshop space is in our open plan living space and is not nut free. Please let us know about any skin or food allergies before booking. We offer a dairy-free milk and gluten free snack alternative.

Minimum number and no refund policy

To ensure we can always pay our creatives a fair fee, we require a minimum number of bookings for each workshop and for this reason bookings are non-refundable. You are welcome to transfer your space to someone else if you can no longer attend, and let us have their contact details. Should we have to cancel due to low numbers, we will transfer your booking to the next available date. If no alternative date is available, you are welcome to swap to an alternative workshop, or request a refund.

We do our very best to avoid cancellations. Since we often get late bookings, we keep our workshops on sale for as long as possible. We realise that some of you travel from afar, so if you book a space and have not yet received an email confirming your workshop is going ahead and need to make plans for your trip, please get in touch before booking any travel or accommodation so we can update you on booking numbers. Or check in before booking.

Private workshop bookings

Most of our workshops are also available to book for: private get-togethers with family and friends; themed wedding and birthday celebrations; corporate team building and well-being purposes; and in-store retail events for your customers. If you’d like to know more please Email Lynn.

Age restrictions

Our workshops are planned with adults in mind. Many are suitable for teenagers, but some may require under 16s to be accompanied for insurance purposes. Please check with us before booking.