Writing From True Stories with Dionne Irving

Does everyone have a story to tell? Where do stories come from? What makes something a memoir instead of a work of fiction? The phrase, “based on a true story,” can help a movie sell, but the phrase can also be a source of inspiration for powerful novels and stories. Our lived experiences and those of our families and friends can be the sources of excellent fiction, but how do we make the leap from the actual world to the imagined world? As we take the facts of life and use them to create fictional lives in novels and short stories, the form moves – evolves. In this workshop, we will learn to use the craft tools of fiction to turn the dramas of daily life into fictional dramas that are compelling and engaging. We will consider how memoir influences autofiction and the ways in which a kernel of truth can take us into a fully imagined world.

Dionne Irving is originally from Toronto, Ontario. She is the author of the novel Quint (7.13 Books), and a short story collection The Islands (Catapult Books) which was shortlisted for the PEN/Faulkner and Hurston Wright Awards. Her fiction and nonfiction have appeared in Story, Boulevard, LitHub, Missouri Review, and New Delta Review, among other journals and magazines. She teaches in the University of Notre Dame Creative Writing Program and the Initiative on Race and Resilience.

Price $80, $65 mbrs.

Time Daily, 11am-2pm

Venue The Studios of Key West

Address 533 Eaton Street
Key West, FL 33040 GET DIRECTIONS

Phone Number 305.296.0458