Memoir Magazine University> Survivor Workshop> Course Description>Syllabus
SURVIVOR WRITERS ANONYMOUS
by Mary McBeth
START DATE: Monday, September 19, 2022
END DATE: Sunday, September 19, 2022
DURATION: 6 weeks
COURSE DESCRIPTION:
Survivor Writers Anonymous is a 6-week online creative nonfiction class in which all of the participants are anonymous (with the exception of the instructor). Students will explore the stories and situations of sexual abuse in their lives that they felt they could NEVER write about, and then not only write them, but also receive feedback based on craft, not content. Students will read assigned essays to see how other authors have written about similar events. By the end of the class, students will have a complete draft of their brave essay, as well as the knowledge and skills to help them revise a personal essay in a more objective way. NOTE: this is not group therapy.
WEEKS AT A GLANCE:
Week 1: Vulnerability in Writing and Connecting with Readers.
For this first week of the class, we will watch a video and read creative essays that illustrate the power of vulnerability in connecting with readers and why the writer must specifically embrace vulnerability and how this can be achieved.
Assignment: Watch the video, Read the three assigned essays, respond to at least one discussion question, complete two brief writing exercises, submit one of the exercises to the instructor (by Thursday), and provide feedback on (Friday) peers’ essays.
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Week 2: Silencing and Writing Your Truth.
This week we will look at the many forms of Silencing and its myriad effects on us, and the reasons why it’s so difficult to write about our own abuse, sexual assault, or rape. We will also discuss Subjective and Objective Reality, and True (Facts) versus Truth (Emotional Truth) in writing and in life.
Assignment: Watch the video, read the three (brief) assigned essays, respond to at least one discussion question, complete at least one of the writing exercises in order to write out your story, submit this (or another) essay-in-progress to the instructor (700 word limit), and provide feedback on peers’ essays.
Week 3: Creativity and False Agreements (Family Group-Think, Projected Truth, Fictional Realities) and the Burden of Proof
Often in our writing it is the things that are left unsaid that holds a writer back. Often we do not write because we are trying to play out in our heads everything that people will say or react to reading our story. We may even believe that different people’s perspectives must align with ours in order to tell our story and be believed. This week we will discuss the role False Agreements with family, perpetrators, and society, Gaslighting, time passed, and repeated PTSD, have on our creativity. And how we can overcome these by using sensory details and addressing The Elephant in the Room.
Assignment: Read the assigned essays, respond to at least one discussion question, complete two brief writing exercises, and submit your essay-in-progress to the instructor (700 word limit), and provide feedback on peers’ essays.
Week 4: Techniques for Writing the Hard Stuff
Our reading for this week shows us various techniques we can use to write our difficult stories. Finding what your voice sounds like within an essay about trauma can be difficult. Your way of telling your story is as unique as you are and it’s important to explore different ways to effectively share emotion in our writing. We will start to look at the tiny mechanics that make big impacts on an essay: points of view, hybrid style choices, sentence structure, and word choice.
Assignment: Listen to an audio essay and read the four assigned essays, respond to at least one discussion question, provide feedback on peers’ essays, and continue to add to and revise your own essay-in-progress as instructed.
Week 5: Description and Body Memory
Following last week’s discussion of technique, this week we will explore the role sensory detail and subtle descriptions play in effectively writing about a traumatic event. Loss of connection to the body is a huge part of trauma and reclaiming that connection will help you write your story and move on to wholeness and what comes next for you in your journey By this week, students will have one long, well-written essay or a few shorter ones. Students will have a good handle on what they want to say in their essays, and how they can approach revising them to make them truly speak to the experience.
Assignment: Read the assigned essays, respond to at least one discussion question, complete one brief writing exercise, submit essay-in-progress to the instructor (800 word limit), and provide feedback on peers’ essays.
Week 6: Discussion: The End, Or Is It? Parting words on Your Voice, Transforming Tragedy into Art, and Bridging The Credibility Gap
This week’s discussion is an exploration of the scope of what we as Writer Survivors are up against (in society) in the hopes that students will recognize they are not alone and have the support, the knowledge and the strength to keep going and sharing their truth. We’ll look at three essays about crafting our most difficult stories, how sexism shapes society’s perceptions of credibility, “transforming tragedy into art” and the potential of that art to transform the society we live in. We will also briefly touch on the topics of liability, fact checking, and dealing with others’ objections to our writing.
Assignment: Watch, listen, and read the assigned essays, respond to at least one discussion question, complete two brief writing exercises, submit final draft of essay to the instructor (700-1000 word limit), and provide feedback on 2-3 peers’ essays.
Materials needed: All readings will be provided by the instructor.
September 15, 2022 | Mary McBeth