Five Days to Write a Life Five Days to Write a Life Five Days to Write a Life

Five Days to Write a Life

There are many ways in which a life story can be presented but this course aims to understand the story you wish to tell – and to help you tell it well.

Level

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Improving

What do these levels mean?

Location

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London

Length

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1-5 days
  • Start Date
  • Time
  • Monday–Friday, 10.00–16.00

£595

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A jump-start for memoir and life writing

This stimulating, intensive five-day course is intended for both those beginning their writing journey and those already well on their way to producing a finished manuscript.

With a combination of group discussion, 'quick sketch' and longer exercises each day, additional reading and structured writing time, plus individual tutorials with Julia, you'll finish the week armed with new technical skills, a greater understanding of your craft and plenty of writing under your belt. Each day we'll use examples from key texts to illustrate our theme for the session and to kick the discussion off.

Is this the right course for me?

Whether you've just started thinking about putting pen to paper, or if you've stalled part-way through writing your memoir, this is the course for anyone keen to throw themselves into writing memoir or biography.

    This course takes place Monday to Friday at Faber's offices in Hatton Garden. Teaching time will run from 10 a.m. until 1 p.m. each day, followed by a break for lunch. Tutorials will then take place in the afternoons and your classroom will be available until 4 p.m. each day for writing time.

Course Programme

Session 1

Monday 15 January, 10.00–16.00

The Story You Wish to Tell...

Session 2

Tuesday 16 January, 10.00–16.00

Finding a Voice...

Session 3

Wednesday 17 January, 10.00–16.00

Deciding on a Structure...

See remaining sessions

Course Programme

Five Days to Write a Life

Session 1

Monday 15 January, 10.00–16.00

The Story You Wish to Tell

We'll begin by thinking about defining the scope and content of your subject, the foundation of any piece of life writing.

Julia Blackburn, The Three of Us; Helen Macdonald, H is For Hawk

Session 2

Tuesday 16 January, 10.00–16.00

Finding a Voice

Jackie Kay is utterly honest without being confessional, while Simon Gray turns his erratic interior thought processes into a wonderful narrative. In this session, we'll experiment with the impact of using different voices: child or adult; first, second or third person.

Jackie Kay, The Adoption Papers; Simon Gray,Coda

Session 3

Wednesday 17 January, 10.00–16.00

Deciding on a Structure

Two family stories which use very different structure to suit very different sorts of parents and childhoods. We'll discuss how to be personal without getting in too deep and how to balance the need for honesty with the wish to not hurt anyone.

Annie Ernaux, The Years; Claire Wilcox, Patch Work: A Life Amongst Clothes

Session 4

Thursday 18 January, 10.00–16.00

Short Cuts and Sideways Glances

A memoir/ life story does not have to be a continuous narrative, nor does it have to be an orthodox narrative. The books mentioned here will start you think about the many possible alternative ways of approaching your subject.

Raymond Antrobus, The Perseverance; Max Porter, Grief is the Thing with Feathers; Julia Blackburn, Murmurations of Love, Grief and Starlings

Session 5

Friday 19 January, 10.00–16.00

The Loneliness of the Long Book

On Thursday we'll have worked out what you want to discuss and have help with during the final session, setting you up for completing the work once the group has dispersed. We'll end with readings from your best pieces.

Tutor

julia-blackburn-tutor

Julia Blackburn

Julia Blackburn was born in London in 1948, the daughter of the poet Thomas Blackburn and the painter Rosalie de Meric. Her first book...

More About This Tutor
Julia Blackburn

Location

The Bindery

51 Hatton Garden

London EC1N 8HN

How to get here

Faber’s office, The Bindery, is well connected by public transport, with Farringdon Station just five minutes’ walk away, and stops for several bus routes in the area too. If you’re coming from outside of London, the office is a short bus or taxi journey from Kings Cross, Euston and St Pancras stations.

Browse the Reading Room

From author interviews and writing tips to creative writing exercises and reading lists, we've got everything you need to get started – and to keep going.