Short-form Memoir with Jenny Valentish
Learn how to craft a captivating piece of short memoir
Join experienced memoirist Jenny Valentish in this unique three-part course on writing short-form memoir.
As Nora Ephron’s mother told her, ‘Everything is copy’! In this course, acclaimed journalist and memoirist Jenny Valentish hands over every trick in her book to help you start, develop and complete a short-form memoir piece. Using the belief that your multifaceted life harbours a trove of stories, Jenny will explore how a single experience can be used as a springboard from which to examine a bigger, richer issues of our times. Whether it is tapping into your childhood voice, using real-life relationships, or blending research with personal events, you will come away from this course with a deeper understanding of how you can shape nuanced, engaging and publishable works of memoir.
You will learn:
- How to find themes for your memoir pieces and identify your ‘crusades’
- Ways to approach writing about trauma
- How to find the younger version of yourself on the page
- How to incorporate research into memoir and make it lively
- The ethical considerations of writing about real people
- Literary techniques to hook readers and create empathy
The course is designed to take you 5-6 hours in total, and can be completed in short stages at your convenience. Scroll down to see the full course curriculum and a list of frequently asked questions.
"This course helped me shape and finish a piece of memoir I’d wanted to write for a while. Jenny Valentish is an engaging and effective teacher."
KYD Members receive a 10% discount on this course and all other KYD online courses throughout the year. Become a member here, or contact [email protected] for more information.
Want to buy a course for a friend? Purchase a gift voucher here.
Your Instructor
Jenny Valentish has written short-form memoir for The Monthly, The Saturday Paper, The Age and The Guardian, and wrote the Walkley-nominated book Woman of Substances, blending memoir with research for a big-picture look at drug use and gender. In her most recent book, Everything Harder Than Everyone Else, her quest to become a fighter runs parallel to the missions of those she profiles, giving her insight more authenticity. She has taught for Writers Victoria, Writers SA, RMIT, Monash University, Collarts and The Monthly.
Course Curriculum
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StartFind Your Own Comfort Zone (2:55)
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StartTypes of Short-form Memoir
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StartFinding Your Themes
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StartExercise: In Three Parts
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StartIdentify Your Crusades
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StartExercise: Crusades
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StartWhat Should You Not Put in Your Memoir? (3:22)
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StartWriting About Trauma
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StartWriting As a Younger You
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Start‘Write from the scar, not the wound’—True or False?
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StartPoetic Licence (3:12)
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StartThe Same Idea From Different Angles
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StartExercise: Different Angles
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StartThree Prompts For Beginning Your Essay (3:51)
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StartThe Hero’s Journey in Plotting Your Short Memoir Pieces
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StartThe Context of a Specific Year
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StartExercise: Context
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StartForeshadowing
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StartExercise: Creating Your Own Foreshadowing
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StartIncorporating Research
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StartUsing Bookends in Your Essay
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StartEndings Have a Rhythm (3:25)
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Start10 Steps to Tightly Edited Copy
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StartCheck Your Balance
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StartExercise: Applying to Your Own Piece-in-Progress