Here are the current on-line classes available. If you are interested in signing up, click here to contact the Santa Fe Writing Institute to register and pay. All classes cost $420 for an 8-week session. Payment can be made with check or PayPal. (U.S. Paypal payments add a processing fee of $13.50, cross-border payments add a slightly higher processing fee.)

Note: Lisa Dale Norton has run hundreds of writing workshops in universities and at conferences. Her feedback is precise, no-nonsense, compassionate, and geared to teach and help writers improve their craft. She is adept at creating and maintaining a safe space for the sharing of creative work.

Winter term 2011:

• Memoir Writing II: Building the Manuscript

Prerequisite: Experience writing memoir or the personal essay. Minimum 10 students. Maximum 15.
This is a class about creating, assessing, and revising memoir material. The goal of the class is to develop both the story arc of your memoir, and your characters.
The first four weeks of the class consist of shorter exercises designed to practice specific memoir writing craft critical to story and character development. The final four weeks generate longer submissions and function as a workshop. The goal is to produce 4000 words of memoir writing.
In this class you:
- write weekly craft-building assignments and receive feedback from Lisa
- write original material for a memoir and receive feedback from Lisa and your colleagues in the class
- respond to fellow students’ writing

Spring term 2011:

• Memoir Writing III: Toward Completion

Prerequisite: Memoir Writing II. Minimum 10 students; maximum 15.
This is a class about pushing into the heart of your memoir, developing new shimmering images, shaping the arc of the narrative, honing scenes, focusing reflective passages, and finding authentic voice.
The entire eight weeks function as a workshop where original material is submitted and responded to by Lisa and fellow students. The goal is to create 5000 words of new memoir material.

In this class you:
- write weekly memoir assignments
- respond to fellow students’ writing

Fall term 2011:

• Memoir Writing I: Mastering the Basics

No prerequisite. Memoir I is open to anyone eager to learn about and write memoir. Minimum 10 students. Maximum 15.
This is a class about the process of writing memoir—how you go about translating personal experience into art. You learn about shimmering images—the building blocks of memoir; characters; narration and reflection; structure; and heart of the story.
The first four weeks of the class consist of shorter exercises designed to generate material for your memoir; the second four weeks generate longer submissions. The final three weeks of the class function as a creative writing workshop. The goal of Memoir Writing I is to write a 4000-word memoir.
In this class you:
- read and discuss short lectures
- read and discuss memoir selections (provided via a PDF file on the website)
- write weekly craft-building assignments and receive feedback from Lisa
- write memoir submissions and receive feedback from Lisa and your colleagues in the class
- respond to fellow students’ writing

On-going sessions beginning in late 2011:

• Memoir Writing IV: Completing Your Book (A Workshop)

Enrollment based on manuscript evaluation by the Santa Fe Writing Institute.

OR IF YOU PREFER, YOU CAN DISCUSS BECOMING A PRIVATE CLIENT WITH LISA TO FINISH YOUR BOOK MANUSCRIPT.
Click here to read about Lisa’s book editing and consulting business.
Click here to contact Lisa.