Email your instructor, Mary McBeth if you have any questions: maryamcbeth@gmail.com
Class: Memoir U Survivor Writer Workshop
The Basics:
- Every Friday, even if it is not the week that you are to share your essay with group members for feedback, email me the essay that you are working on that week. I’ll provide line edits for the draft, as well as some comments and suggestions. And I’ll return my edits to you by that Tuesday. Friday is the deadline, but you can submit this as early as Tuesday. The earlier the better.
- Each week, one or two group member(s) will share their essay, and the other group members provide feedback. We’ll keep a schedule on the site to ensure that every student gets peer feedback on their essay twice during the 6-week class. This way you only have to provide feedback on one or two short essays a week. This will give you more time to write! If you are confused just check the essay review schedule.
- Essays should be no more than 1000 words. If your essay is more than 1000 words, then highlight the sections in your essay where you want the most feedback
- Essays submitted for feedback should (preferably) be new essays started while in this class, but due to the specific subject matter, I will accept writing that has been started previously.
- If it is your week to workshop your essay, when you email it to me, please include any specific questions you would like your peers to reply to. Upon receiving your essay, I’ll then email it to your group members.
- After you read the essay, go to the class’s webpage and you will see a post that you can reply to with your feedback for your peer’s essay.
- I’ll email my feedback to every student, every week. Students’ feedback online is just as valid as my feedback, if not more so, and so I want everyone to give their honest feedback. Its just a difference in opinion.
A Few Words on Triggering:
Finally, here is your warning that we are going to be writing and reading about pretty emotionally triggering topics. If you are triggered or offended by something, take a break, breathe, remind yourself to focus on craft, and proceed. If you need to vent, decompress, or just tell me how you’re feeling and what you are experiencing, please feel free to do so!
If you feel you may need the support of more specialized emotional one-on-one discussion, I recommend that you consider having a safe person you can call for the duration of the course or ask your local Rape Crisis Center if they can provide one — at least for the first few meetings.
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Technical Instructions
To Post an Essay
• Every Friday, email the instructor your essay at maryamcbeth@gmail.com
• If it is your week to receive feedback, the instructor will email your essay to the class
• The instructor will create a post on the website for the class to post their replies to the essays critiqued that week
To Comment on an Essay or Discussion Question
• Sign into the website
• Click on the “Workshops” tab
• Click on the participant’s essay or that week’s discussion questions post
• Read the essay
• Click on “Leave a Reply”
• Type in your comments/thoughts/suggestions on the essay (1-2 paragraphs) or your thoughts to at least one of the discussion questions (1 paragraph). It might be wise to formulate your reply on your computer first and then cut and paste it on the site.
• Click on “Post Comment.” Done!