Resources

• Workbook download

• “Storytellers are a threat. They threaten all champions of control, they frighten usurpers of the right-to-freedom of the human spirit—in state, in church or mosque, in party congress, in the university or wherever.”
  ― Chinua Achebe, Anthills of the Savannah (aff)

• Educated by Tara Westover (aff)

• The Collected Schizophrenias by Esmé Weijun Wang (aff)

• “The Fourth State of Matter,” from The Boys of My Youth, Jo Ann Beard (aff)

• Chat log

© 2025 Esmé Weijun Wang

This transcript may contain errors.

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Oh, hello. Jamina, how… How would you like me to to pronounce your name, Janina?

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Jamaina.

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Daily is here off screen. Bailey is the My right hand gal.

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So if you need assistance. I believe her name is under my name.

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But… you should be able to figure out.

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Who she is. Hello, Angela from Colombia. One of my dear friends is from Colombia.

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Yeah, more people are coming in. People are coming in. Oh, Canada. This is a really international group here.

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Oh, Fran, I'm so glad to see you made it. Hello.

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Well, hi, Emily. I'm so glad to see you made it as well. There were some people who had some tech issues, and I also know that there was a lot of last minute changing due to my health stuff. So I'm very grateful

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To see you all here. Hi, Raleigh from Washington State.

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And Christina from Fort Collins, Colorado. Oh, my friend Waini lives there.

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She is… one of the guest lecturers that we have.

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Nando. In the DC area, that's where my best friend lives And the Esme there is Bailey. Ailey, are you able to rename yourself to be me?

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Or to be yourself.

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Yes, I can do that. I don't know why I'm showing up as your name because I'm on my account, but I'll rename myself to Bailey.

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It's… Okay. All right. Now we have 38 people. I think I'm going to wait.

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Another three minutes and then we'll get started because you don't want to get started too late As I was saying a moment ago, we have almost 400 people signed up for this webinar.

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There may just be a lot of people who are not attending live But I also feel like with my experience with my experience with these things, people tend to come a little late Like in the first five minutes.

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And then all of a sudden people just start piling in so Hello, Asheville.

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Hello, Long Beach, Iowa, Austin, Texas, Vancouver. So many.

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Disparate places.

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Oh, Mayan, I quote you in this webinar. So I'm glad to see you here.

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Hi, Kyla. Really good to see you here. Yes, there are a lot of Canadians. We're having a very international gathering today, which is super exciting.

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I hope that none of you are watching this at like two in the morning.

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Ooh, if anyone has the issue I did, Zoom won't let you in without an email associated with the Zoom account.

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Bailey, can you check on that? Is that a thing that normally happens.

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Uh… If it doesn't… If that is the case, that may be why we don't have as many people in here as we would normally have. So if you could check that out, that would be amazing.

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Yeah, I'm feeling much better today. Thank you.

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Yeah. Oh, puzzling. I've never had that happen before.

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You just have to, okay, yeah, Bailey's in it. You have to enter your name and email address.

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Okay, we'll give it like one more minute and then we'll get going because We have places to go and people to see.

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And I don't want to waste your time. Although it is very nice to have you all here.

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I lost track of who I was saying hello to because of all these people started coming in.

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Thank you to everyone who It's here today. It's a very exciting day. And here we go. All right.

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We are going to start. I am going to… Look at where we are.

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And shape your story. And I'm going to get started. All right. Thank you all. Jess, we're going to go over housekeeping in a moment, but I'm going to do a little bit of an introduction.

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So we're going to be having this masterclass today, shape your story from small pieces to memoir.

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Out of curiosity, how many of you have the memoir in miniature before coming to this masterclass? Not at all mandatory, but I'm curious as to how many of you did take that before this. Okay, great.

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Amazing. Amazing. So that'll help you, but it's not necessary. I'm so excited to have you all here today. I see we have some activity in the chat.

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Which is wonderful. Feel free to keep introducing yourselves as we get started. So my name is Esme Wei Chen Wang.

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And today I'm going to walk you through a process that will help you transform your personal experiences which you may have used in memoir and miniature into a compelling full-length memoir, even if you're facing limitations in your life and writing practice.

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So let's see. We're going to be going through this roadmap that I have here.

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Before I dive in, I want to highlight these three major challenges we'll be solving together today. So finding your best nonfiction topic, the one that's the most compelling and sustainable for you to write about.

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Second, creating a meaningful structure for your memoir, especially because we may be moving from short form to long form, you're going to want a good structure.

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And third, building a writing practice that works with your limitations And not against them.

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So by the end of today's session. My promise to you is that you'll have a clear roadmap to identify your most compelling memoir topic.

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Choose the right structure for your unique story and create a writing practice that honors your real life circumstances. So I'm really hoping that this will be a fruitful session for you. You'll walk away with a lot of information that you can implement

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And now I'm just going to tell you a little bit about myself.

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My name is Esme. I'm the author of the Collected Schizophrenias, which won the Gray Wolf Nonfiction Prize and became a New York Times bestseller.

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As well as the novel The Border of Paradise. My work has received the Whiting Award for Nonfiction, and I was selected as one of Granta's Best of Young American novelists.

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What you might not know is that I wrote much of my work while managing schizoaffective disorder and later with physical conditions, including POTS and fibromyalgia. I imagine some of you may be familiar with these things.

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I often worked from bed. I see that Tyla is mentioning this.

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Using my iPhone. To write when I couldn't sit at a desk. I actually recently got this very cool setup. I don't know if you can see it But I have a bed desk.

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Now here, which now rolls back and forth. It's very cool. So these experiences uh led me to develop the unexpected shape writing academy specifically designed for writers navigating limitations. I'm passionate about helping writers create meaningful work while honoring their bodies and lives.

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As they are. So let's do a little bit of housekeeping first.

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It is a 90 minute session. Hopefully it won't take too much longer than that. Really trying to keep my eye on the clock here.

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There will be a Q&A at the end. One exciting thing is that we are going to be giving away three $20bookshop.org gift cards So that is the incentive that you all have for being here live, although the people who are watching

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Via recording are perfectly wonderful as well. Just wanted to let you know I'll be asking some questions and Bailey will be randomly selecting from the answers.

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We do have a special offer for webinar attendees, recording and resources will be available afterward and feel free to post about this on Blue Sky, Substack Notes, or Instagram.

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You can use the hashtag shape your story and Here we go. Does anybody have any questions before I move on regarding these housekeeping things?

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Okay, I think we're good to go. So let's move on.

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So in terms of who this is for, this workshop is specifically designed for people facing limitations of various kinds. So you might be living with chronic illness or disability, which I see many of you talking about in the chat. Thank you so much for sharing. Maybe you have caregiving responsibilities for children.

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Aging parents or your partner. You might have unpredictable energy levels. I can definitely identify with that. Limited time or resources, or you might just find your creative process frequently interrupted.

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So if you're in the chat, if you're just nodding along, if you're like, that's me, exactly, you're in the right place.

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And I want to start by acknowledging something. These limitations are real.

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They're not excuses or issues to overcome. In fact, I really hate it when the media talks about overcoming our limitations because they're there.

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Often very hard to overcome limitations that we live with and they're legitimate constraints that require adaptation and new approaches, which is what we're going to be doing.

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Today. Oh, thank you so much for sharing to the people in the chat. I will be looking at the chat a little bit, but because I have to be focused on the material.

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Unfortunately will not be as focused as I wish I were.

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All right. So the costs of trying to force ourselves, just like pushing really hard into these ill-fitting models can be devastating. So we have abandoned manuscripts that haunt us projects we've started and stopped Over the years, I don't know if any of you have that situation, might have a creative identity crisis where we question if we're real writers because

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We can't maintain conventional practices as seen on this slide, the rigid schedules of write every day. I particularly get mad at Stephen King about this, which I'll talk a little bit about later. We also are often isolated from writing communities, especially when other people don't understand our constraints.

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We often, a lot of us often spend a lot of time at home, whether because you're caregiving, you're parenting, you're dealing with your illness.

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Whatever it is, we're often at home and it's often hard to make community happen So there's also that.

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There are deepening imposter syndromes going on that are sometimes intensified by our limitations.

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And perhaps most tragic of all, important stories remain untold. That's your Because the conventional path to writing them feels impossible. So the real price is the literary world's price. They are missing out on the unique perspectives and wisdom that come from writing through limitation and challenges and that is you

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You are the one who is going to bring that to the writing community so there is a alternative. What if instead of trying to write despite our limitations We learn to write within them. And that's the whole idea of the phrase that I use.

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Called The Unexpected Shape. What if we developed adaptive approaches specifically tailored to our realities. What if we found community with others who understand our constraints? Like this little community we have in here in the chat box.

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What if we, this isn't about lowering your standards. This isn't about making excuses. It's about finding new paths.

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That honor the reality of our bodies and lives while still producing meaningful, powerful writing and you can do it i know you can do it. So what we need isn't more willpower It isn't more discipline.

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It is a completely different framework. So I'll get to that in a moment.

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That's why I've developed a three-part framework that we'll explore today.

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So first, finding your best nonfiction topic, one that energizes rather than depletes you. Second.

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Shaping your memoir with a structure that suits your unique story and the way you can work.

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That is going to be a neat surprise for some of you, I hope. And third, building a sustainable writing habit that works with your limitations.

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Not against them Let's dive into the first part of our framework.

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Finding your best nonfiction topic. So let's begin with this.

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The key word is best, not just any topic. You may have many.

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But the one that's most aligned with your purpose and capacity right now.

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I want to start with this powerful quote from Chinua Achebe.

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Storytellers are a threat. They threaten all champions of control.

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They frighten usurfers of the right to freedom of the human spirit in state in church or mosque, in party congress in the university or wherever.

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And this reminds us of why stories matter.

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They have power. They can challenge systems. Right now, this is more important than ever.

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They can connect deeply with others your you're Fellow writers and also your readers. So choosing your topic isn't just a practical decision.

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It's about identifying what story you are uniquely positioned to tell.

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And… You know what? I think it's time for a gift card opportunity. So I'd love to hear from you in the chat. Why are stories important to you and why do you feel compelled to write your story.

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So go ahead. In the chat. And when you're answering the question, we will choose someone at random for a $20bookshop.org.

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Gift card. Oh, because you never found a book about your community oh Okay. Bailey says… The winner of this first Oh, yeah. Let's have Bailey announce it.

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Go ahead, Bailey.

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Hello all, this is Bailey coming to you. And the first gift card winner, yes, drum roll please, is Kelly Ludwig.

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Kelly, we will be following up and sending you a gift card via email after the event.

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Yay!

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Thank you all for sharing in the chat and congratulations to Kelly for winning a gift card and we'll be giving away two more of those.

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As we go along. Thank you for your thoughtful responses.

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So one of the first decisions in finding your best topic is determining where it falls on the spectrum from broad to narrow focus. So some powerful memoirs take a very broad approach, like Maggie Nelson's Bluettes.

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Which explores the color blue as a framework to examine love, loss, meaning, all these things under the umbrella of the color blue in a broad way. Others are very specific.

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Like Annie Dillard's A Pilgrim at Tinker Creek, which focuses intensely on observations in one specific place, which is a pilgrim at Tinker Creek so it's Tinker Creek that she's focusing on. Somebody has asked, is it possible to receive the name and source for the quote?

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Yes, we're going to be sharing all the resources from this class along with the recording afterwards. So no have no fear. We will have links to the books we mention. We'll have the quote et cetera. So thank you for asking.

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So neither approach, whether it's broad or narrow, is inherently better, but one might be best suited to your particular story and working style. So if you have limited energy or frequent interruptions, a series of more focused pieces might be easier to complete than a sweeping

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Narrative. So let's do a topic exercise.

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Where you are talking about what we were just discussing, moving from broad to specific. Let's try and exercise to explore this spectrum for your own topic. So take a moment to think about your memoir idea. This doesn't have to be like the memoir idea it's just

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The one that you happen to have. Top of mind right now just for the exercise. So imagine six different versions of it.

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Ranging from the broadest possible interpretation to the most specific narrow focus. So a very broad topic might be living with chronic illness.

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Well, a very specific topic might be how hiking the Appalachian Trail transformed my relationship with lupus so Jot down these six variations from broadest to most specific Which one excites you the most?

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And which one feels most manageable with your current limitations? Which one makes you think.

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I could write about that for months. Without getting bored. So I'll give you a couple of minutes to work on this. And then I will ask some questions afterwards. So we'll give you about three minutes.

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For the question, is specific easier to write? I would not say so necessarily.

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Some people might find it easier. But some people really love just writing broadly. I think it is really up to you and

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Okay, so one more minute for this exercise

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Okay, I'm seeing some things in the chat that are interesting.

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Kyla has shared general building a life with pathological demand avoidance Mishka is saying, I feel a bit stuck because my specific story isn't particularly grand.

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Or adventurous is a very small but heartfelt story. So you're saying that there's like a narrative that's very you know specific you have a specific narrative um A small but heartfelt story can still be broad and very specific.

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So I would say I don't know what your story is, but if you share it, we can talk about that later in the Q&A.

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Um and there are some people who are sharing in the chat. This is amazing. So I can't read them all, but I will say Reflect on what you've written. What have you noticed about your broad ideas versus your narrow ones?

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Do you find yourself drawn more to one end of the spectrum?

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There's no right answer here. It's about discovering what works for you and again As with any of these exercises, and I should have said this at the top of the class.

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If it's not working for you, if you're like, this is not helping me.

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Then just don't worry about it. No one is making you do this.

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And I mean that in the kindest way possible. This is your writing. This is your writing life.

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Please, please, I would be so upset if I knew that you were forcing yourself to do something that you didn't want to do or that wasn't working for you. That is the antithesis of what this class is supposed to be about. So let's just continue going.

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Next, let's apply what I call the pressure test to evaluate your topic ideas more deeply.

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So ask yourself these questions. What work have you already done on the topic.

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Maybe you've already kept journals, maybe you've done research or simply lived the experience deeply.

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What additional work would you like to do? Might it be interviews or reading or exploration?

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So these are some of the key questions. And most importantly, what is your goal?

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For the book that you're dreaming about is it personal healing? Is it connecting with others who share your experience? Is it advocating for change?

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Is it trying to be educational? So understanding your purpose will help clarify which version of your book best serves that goal. So when I wrote the collective schizophrenias.

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I had both personal and social goals. I wanted to process my own experiences with schizoaffective disorder and other mental illness.

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But I also wanted to challenge stigma and misconceptions. So these dual purposes shaped how I approached the topic and you'll hear more about that when we get to the shape.

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The shaping part with the structure area of the memoir. So take a moment to consider your own purpose.

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How does it align with the topic variations you just completed.

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And we're not going to take a long time to think about this, but it could be helpful to jot it down to think about later or if you have something that just pops off.

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Pops off the top of your head, feel free to write it down.

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So this was the thing that I was talking about. So aligning topic with purpose can allow you to come up with ways to connect your broadness or narrowness to your storytelling goals.

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So take your favorite topic idea and explicitly connect it with your purpose as a storyteller.

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For instance, if your purpose is to help others feel less alone in their chronic pain journey And your topic is navigating the healthcare system with an invisible illness.

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You can see how those align. If your purpose is to document my family history for future generations.

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But your topic is broadly women's rights in the 20th century you might need to refine your focus to better serve your purpose.

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So this alignment between topic and purpose.

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Can create a powerful foundation. For your memoir.

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So every large memoir Or even the smaller ones.

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Should contain or usually contain smaller parts within it. So these could be chapters or essays or thematic section. So in Bluettes, I don't know how many of you may have read this. Maggie Nelson uses tiny numbered paragraphs that accumulate into a whole.

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And each tiny piece is about the color blue in some way.

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So in my book, The Collective Schizophrenias, I wrote essays that critics later called kaleidoscopic.

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In how they fit together. So take a moment to brainstorm some of the smaller pieces within your topic. What are some specific stories or moments or themes or questions that could become components of your larger work?

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Remember, you don't have to commit to writing all these parts just because you're brainstorming them here.

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The goal is to develop an expansive sense of possibility within your topic.

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Water. So when I was planning to collect at schizophrenas.

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I had an essay idea called the most charismatic Man in America.

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I was absolutely certain it was going to make it into the book. I'm not going to talk about what that particular essay was about, but it was about schizophrenia. I did think it was interesting, but I ended up not writing it. I dropped it. It didn't make it into the final book and that's perfectly normal. So if you're coming up with stuff

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Right now, you don't have to commit to to it it's not you're not bound to it. You haven't sworn an oath to stick to it.

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You're just coming up with some ideas.

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So now we're going to be talking about shaping your memoir.

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And the importance of narrative shape. Now that we've explored how to find your best nonfiction topic, let's move to the next crucial element, which is shaping your story with a structure that works. Oh, sorry, shaping your memoir with a structure that works for your particular story. And we're going to go through some different structures and different ways of thinking about structure.

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But first, I do want to talk about why it's important to have a narrative shape.

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Narrative structure is what organizes events in the events in your book into a meaningful arc that engages readers. So without structure Stories can become problematic in two common ways. First, what I call a wrong hole story.

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I don't know if any of you speak Mandarin. But it just kind of means like and then it just means and then And when I was a child.

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I really liked to talk. And my favorite thing was to tell stories, except all of my stories were like this.

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The dragon went up the hill Raul, he found a big egg and then he rolled the egg down the hill Rajo, the egg cracked open and a princess came out etc etc and this would go on like literally we drove from San Jose to los angeles which some of you might know was a seven out is a seven hour drive. And I did not stop talking the entire time.

00:30:45.000 --> 00:30:55.000

This is something you do not want to do. You don't want to have a Rojo story. There needs to be some kind of structure or arc.

00:30:55.000 --> 00:31:11.000

Problem that can happen is a meadows story and this It's just a story that ends without a payoff. This comes from something I heard on the radio once, which was this group of people who called these endless stories meadow stories, because they had a friend

00:31:11.000 --> 00:31:28.000

Who told the story and it didn't have the wrong whole issue but it did you know kind of go like and then I got on the bus and on the bus like someone peed in the hat hat had a hole in it in the urine like ran all the way down the bus. It kept going and going and going. And then it ended. And then we got to a meadow.

00:31:28.000 --> 00:31:35.000

And the people listening to the story asked and then what And the person telling this story said.

00:31:35.000 --> 00:31:50.000

It was a really pretty meadow. So it's really like a story with no real payoff and that can happen in what I call a meadow story.

00:31:50.000 --> 00:31:57.000

So first, I'm going to share this very classic shape that we have, which is the classic narrative triangle.

00:31:57.000 --> 00:32:02.000

The most familiar narrative structure is what we might call the triangle or arc.

00:32:02.000 --> 00:32:15.000

It consists of, you can see the exposition it's like stories that really like going anywhere yet. Oh my gosh, the inciting incident is happening, which is like this big event that causes the story to take a turn.

00:32:15.000 --> 00:32:34.000

You find out that like you know you have to throw this ring into more door or like you have to, you know, save the princess or whatever And then there's the rising action, all of these like exciting things are happening. You reach the climax like, oh my gosh, you're like standing at the edge of

00:32:34.000 --> 00:32:51.000

Of mortar the edge of the that volcano thing at mortar can you tell I know nothing about Lord of the rings and then you throw the ring in or you manage to push Both Gollum and the ring in and then sorry spoilers for

00:32:51.000 --> 00:33:00.000

Lord of the Rings, I feel like it's been out long enough that I didn't have to do a spoiler alert but i please i'm apologizing if I spoiled it for you.

00:33:00.000 --> 00:33:14.000

Then there's some falling action like the elves are going back and like they're, you know, the hobbits are going home etc etc and then you have the denouement which takes you through the end. So this is Freytog's pyramid of story structure it's the most

00:33:14.000 --> 00:33:34.000

Conventional way to tell a story and it works because it mirrors how we experience specific events in our lives. It's usually building tension reaching a turning point and then finding a new equilibrium afterward. So this is the classic narrative triangle.

00:33:34.000 --> 00:33:47.000

But there are other ways to tell stories. So just to talk about the triangle again, let's look at Tara Westover's Educated. I don't know how many of you have read this.

00:33:47.000 --> 00:33:59.000

But it does follow the classic structure. So the rising action is that there is a conflict between desire for education and family opposition, the climax.

00:33:59.000 --> 00:34:21.000

There's a final confrontation about abuse Falling action is a decision to sever family ties and then resolution is tariffs finding independence through education. And that is one example that is better than my explanation of Lord of the Rings.

00:34:21.000 --> 00:34:31.000

Here's an example of an alternative shape. So the triangle is classic, but many powerful memoirs use alternative structures that might better suit.

00:34:31.000 --> 00:34:47.000

Your particular story. And let's look at some options so first the trapezoid. So instead of a single peak The trapezoid has rising action leading to a plateau with multiple climactic moments before the resolution.

00:34:47.000 --> 00:35:14.000

So this works well for stories with several significant turning points. So a memoir about chronic illness might have a first climax at diagnosis, a plateau of adjusting to life with the condition, a second climax with a transformative event or treatment and then a resolution showing a new sense of balance.

00:35:14.000 --> 00:35:21.000

The next one is one I haven't seen in a lot of places, but one that I'm very familiar with, which is the funnel.

00:35:21.000 --> 00:35:45.000

So this structure starts narrowly focused and then gradually broadens to encompass larger ideas or themes. So the collective schizophrenias uses this approach it begins narrowly with specific diagnosis but then expands to explore broader cultural, spiritual, and medical questions related

00:35:45.000 --> 00:36:00.000

To mental illness. I always said that I didn't want this book to make me like a talking head. Anytime NPR needs someone to talk about schizophrenia, I more wanted it to be like a bouquet of questions. And I mean this very literally it does look like a bouquet of

00:36:00.000 --> 00:36:07.000

On its side. And the questions are coming out of the wide part of the funnel.

00:36:07.000 --> 00:36:14.000

So that is one shape. That you can use.

00:36:14.000 --> 00:36:22.000

Here is one called The Wave. The wave structure shows a series of recurrent highs and lows.

00:36:22.000 --> 00:36:34.000

Reflecting cyclical experiences. So this could work well for a memoir about recovery, relapse, and growth. I don't know if any of you have read The Center Cannot Hold by Ellen Sachs.

00:36:34.000 --> 00:36:52.000

But the story really follows this wave pattern. She is constantly taking her medication and getting better and then stopping taking her medication and finding herself getting worse, taking the medication again and getting better, stopping again and finding herself getting worse it goes

00:36:52.000 --> 00:37:08.000

On and on and on and on throughout the story. Every single wave is different because different things are happening in her life But the central shape or structure is a wave.

00:37:08.000 --> 00:37:24.000

Here's another alternative shape, which is a spiral. And this is what I would The best example I can think of to share with you is that the spiral revisits the same themes or events but with deeper insights each time.

00:37:24.000 --> 00:37:42.000

So you're kind of going from the middle and then you're spiraling outward bigger and bigger. So a brief memoir might loop back to the same moment of loss repeatedly, but you're revealing new layers with each return.

00:37:42.000 --> 00:37:47.000

This is also useful in thinking about your own journey with healing or grief as a side note.

00:37:47.000 --> 00:37:56.000

So you might be thinking like, oh my God, I had to make this like revelation again. Didn't I already make this revelation like four times before? Have I not learned anything?

00:37:56.000 --> 00:38:15.000

And the answer is you have learned something. You are just on a different place in the spiral you're like moving outward even though you're like on the same general point, if that makes sense Let's have another gift card opportunity.

00:38:15.000 --> 00:38:20.000

So which of these structures seems most aligned with your memoir idea?

00:38:20.000 --> 00:38:25.000

Share your thoughts in the chat.

00:38:25.000 --> 00:38:33.000

Oh, so many are saying spiral. I wasn't expecting that.

00:38:33.000 --> 00:38:46.000

Wow, so many spirals. It's funny because a lot of these I just made up like I've never seen them in books or other kinds of creative nonfiction education. I made basically all of them up except for the Freitux triangle.

00:38:46.000 --> 00:38:53.000

And I love that these are making sense to you.

00:38:53.000 --> 00:39:05.000

Ooh, excellent pride. I have not read that. So unfortunately, I cannot say, okay, Bailey has a person and would you like to announce the winner?

00:39:05.000 --> 00:39:06.000

Bailey?

00:39:06.000 --> 00:39:24.000

Yes, sure. Once again, I feel like I'm like a game show like host uh This time the gift card winner is Adriana Paez or Paes. I'm apologizing if I'm pronouncing that incorrectly, but we will reach out to you again with an email and gift card. Congratulations.

00:39:24.000 --> 00:39:39.000

Congratulations. Yay. So how do you find the right shape for your memoir? It seems like a lot of you have been feeling pretty good about finding the right shape.

00:39:39.000 --> 00:39:47.000

But um I want to be able to help you if you're still having trouble with some practical approaches.

00:39:47.000 --> 00:39:56.000

One is to kind of start with a loose chronological structure as a scaffold, but remain flexible. So when I initially organized.

00:39:56.000 --> 00:40:04.000

The collective schizophrenias. I did start chronologically, but during revision it evolved into more of a funnel shape.

00:40:04.000 --> 00:40:13.000

And that was kind of a fun discovery. I had never thought of a funnel shape before. But as I was writing it, I was like, oh, this could work really well as a funnel.

00:40:13.000 --> 00:40:25.000

Another is to let your writing and revision process reveal patterns and emotional arcs naturally So sometimes the shape will just emerge through the writing rather than being predetermined.

00:40:25.000 --> 00:40:40.000

Predetermined. So I wouldn't necessarily recommend that you start out with like a gung ho, like I'm committing to the trapezoid come hell or high water and I'm never going to budge from the trapezoid no matter what comes up in my writing.

00:40:40.000 --> 00:40:57.000

It's just let yourself have some… some easiness. Let yourself have some casualness in the writing and you're going to discover really cool things, which is one amazing thing about writing is that you're discovering cool things about what happened.

00:40:57.000 --> 00:41:01.000

About your own writing style and the shape of your memoir.

00:41:01.000 --> 00:41:21.000

Another point is that you might want to test different shapes to see which one best supports your narrative themes. So for example, Helen McDonald's H is for hawk, uses a braided structure interweaving her grief journey with a story of treating a goshawk

00:41:21.000 --> 00:41:29.000

So this structure perfectly supports her exploration of wildness as both threat and salvation. This isn't a memoir.

00:41:29.000 --> 00:41:47.000

But I believe… I believe Joanne beards the four, what is this Before, I can't think of the name of this essay, but it's a really, really famous one uh it's like the four somethings of something. I really know this one but it's not

00:41:47.000 --> 00:41:57.000

Coming out for me. Thank you. The four stories The four states of matter. Thank you, Amy Parker. That is exactly it. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

00:41:57.000 --> 00:42:07.000

So the four states of matter, very, very famous essay. Lots of people teach it when they're teaching nonfiction classes. It's a brilliant essay. It does use a braided structure.

00:42:07.000 --> 00:42:12.000

So if you want to look at a braided structure, that would be a good one too.

00:42:12.000 --> 00:42:21.000

So for some practical tips. Identify the emotional arc of your story. So what's at the heart of the transformation that's happening if there is one?

00:42:21.000 --> 00:42:28.000

Another is to group similar themes or events and that could create kind of natural sections.

00:42:28.000 --> 00:42:46.000

So like an interesting one, for example, I just came up with this one would be like, what if you did a book and it was divided into sections called like the page of wands the knight of wands the queen of wands and the king of wands and then each

00:42:46.000 --> 00:42:58.000

Section had like writing that fell under the kind of ideas of those ideas of Arcana in uh the tarot.

00:42:58.000 --> 00:43:04.000

You can come up with all kinds of structures. And it's fun. It is fun.

00:43:04.000 --> 00:43:08.000

To kind of figure that out. So another idea is to use metaphors.

00:43:08.000 --> 00:43:19.000

To conceptualize your story shape, this really was my metaphor to say like the bouquet of questions because this can provide unexpected insights.

00:43:19.000 --> 00:43:42.000

Using metaphors is also just fun. So I did want to share a little bit about experimental structures because I came across This post from Chloe Caldwell's book trying and it made me laugh Chloe Caldwell has a book called Trying. I'm not sure when it's coming out. I have a galley copy, but

00:43:42.000 --> 00:44:06.000

So this is what she was writing to her editor at Gray Wolf. These are doodles of, these are her doodles of the structure of her memoir. So I wanted to show that to you So that you can see like the shapes that writers are making aren't necessarily shapes that make sense to anyone else or that look like clean shapes.

00:44:06.000 --> 00:44:13.000

This is, I'm just going to read this out loud. This is me doodling the arc of trying. I know they don't make sense to anyone but me.

00:44:13.000 --> 00:44:29.000

And then Yuga says, which art act is which? Each one is the whole book, me trying to show the plot And the star is the beginning of the act. And so that's why there are stars there. But you can see it's not like a conventional structure.

00:44:29.000 --> 00:44:40.000

So Chloe Caldwell's essay collection trying uses a fragmented nonlinear structure to reflect the messiness of grief and queer reawakening.

00:44:40.000 --> 00:44:57.000

You could also do a graphic memoir. I've had some students do graphic memoirs because they're very visually oriented and they want to do a graphic memoir or they just love graphic memoirs such as Fun Home by Alison Bechtel, an amazing amazing

00:44:57.000 --> 00:45:03.000

Graphic memoir, you might want to do a braided or a mosaic style such as ages for Hawk.

00:45:03.000 --> 00:45:14.000

And the key consideration with experimental structures is intentionality. So even unconventional memoirs need purpose behind the chaos.

00:45:14.000 --> 00:45:32.000

So random fragmentation will confuse readers. But purposeful fragmentation and powerfully reflect experiences like trauma where memories are coming in flashbacks and you're not sure what's coming when, et cetera, or disorientation.

00:45:32.000 --> 00:45:56.000

For example, coming from some sort of illness or again, trauma. So you can see again like Experimental structures do have intentionality. You can see in this little doodle that Chloe was thinking about the structure of trying, even though it looks kind of funny here and probably wouldn't make sense if we didn't have her accompanying description.

00:45:56.000 --> 00:46:05.000

Okay, great. I actually think Right now, we should take a quick break.

00:46:05.000 --> 00:46:18.000

Let's see. How about we take a break Or… five minutes. Let's do five minutes.

00:46:18.000 --> 00:46:29.000

So let's come back. It's 1147 where I am right now. So at 1152 Pacific time.

00:46:29.000 --> 00:46:59.000

Please come back or just like in five minutes. So awesome.

00:51:37.000 --> 00:51:52.000

Okay, so we are a little bit behind. So you may find me rushing a tiny bit because I want to be able to get you all out at the time I said I would get you all out. However, we may have to stretch the Q&A

00:51:52.000 --> 00:51:59.000

To after the 90 minutes. So if you are able to do that, that's when we'll give that a try.

00:51:59.000 --> 00:52:09.000

So for right now, we're moving on. We're speeding on ahead. We're going to be talking about cultivating a writing habit while living with limitations.

00:52:09.000 --> 00:52:23.000

So now that we've explored topic selection and structure, let's address what for many of us is the biggest challenge, actually building a writing practice that accommodates our limitations.

00:52:23.000 --> 00:52:31.000

Let's start by acknowledging that the most traditional writing advice makes ableist assumptions about our bodies and minds.

00:52:31.000 --> 00:52:52.000

Stephen King famously advises to write every day in his book on writing He not only says to write every day, but he says that if you care about writing, you will write for four to six hours every day. So I guess I just don't care about writing Stephen King. So Stephen King can go eat a mushy apple.

00:52:52.000 --> 00:53:10.000

Cal Newport, he has a lot of thoughts about productivity. His deep work strategies are interesting to read about, but they do assume you can block off substantial chunks of focus time which is hard. It doesn't really account for brain fog or fatigue.

00:53:10.000 --> 00:53:21.000

Caregiving responsibilities. How are you supposed to do your like five hours of deep work when your kid is jumping into the room and screaming and needing something like every five minutes?

00:53:21.000 --> 00:53:39.000

What if you are like working multiple jobs? That's also an issue. What if you have very unpredictable health? There are so many reasons that we need to build writing practices that honor our actual circumstances and not our idealized ones.

00:53:39.000 --> 00:53:49.000

So here is what I was just ranting about. So… The first step, in my opinion, is honest assessment.

00:53:49.000 --> 00:54:02.000

Ask yourself, what are your specific limitations? So be detailed. Chronic fatigue, brain fog, work commitments, etc. How do these impact your daily life and capacity?

00:54:02.000 --> 00:54:12.000

How are you currently spending your time? This is often different than how we actually spend how we think we spend our time.

00:54:12.000 --> 00:54:32.000

There are some tools that I recommend like time tracking sheets for planners, at least to do for like a week or so to kind of track what you're doing every day i do have one, but it has private stuff in it. So I'm not going to show you. But I do log everything that I do throughout the day. It really helps me

00:54:32.000 --> 00:54:48.000

For my mental health and a number of other reasons but it also shows me how my days tend to go. And for example, one thing I learned is that during a certain era of my illness, I could only do one major thing a day. That major thing

00:54:48.000 --> 00:54:58.000

Would be teaching a class. Having a phone call, having a meal with a friend, but it could only be one thing and then I would be wiped out for the entire day.

00:54:58.000 --> 00:55:08.000

That kind of assessment is a way for you to figure out What exactly are your limitations and how do they look?

00:55:08.000 --> 00:55:16.000

So it's important to remember that writing involves more than just putting words on the page. And my best friend is always reminding me of this.

00:55:16.000 --> 00:55:33.000

A complete writing practice also includes research. So you're reading, watching sources, conducting interviews. You're dreaming, you're allowing your brain to wander and make connections while you're taking a walk or taking a nap or lying in bed with your eyes closed

00:55:33.000 --> 00:55:40.000

You have administrative tasks. You might have to correspond with an editor or schedule your time.

00:55:40.000 --> 00:55:50.000

Or do some organization because your files are all jumbled. You might have to do some actual drafting. So whether that's typing or dictating or writing by hand.

00:55:50.000 --> 00:56:03.000

Or taking your iPhone and tapping on it, which is what I normally do. Education, learning about craft through classes or by reading so you being here is part of your writing practice.

00:56:03.000 --> 00:56:12.000

When energy is limited, you might focus on different components on different days. So on low energy days, maybe you do research for admin.

00:56:12.000 --> 00:56:19.000

Save your highest energy periods for actual drafting.

00:56:19.000 --> 00:56:27.000

Or at least that's how I would do it. So the way I think about it is the productivity equation.

00:56:27.000 --> 00:56:34.000

So your limitations Plus your resources, plus your goals equal your unique goals.

00:56:34.000 --> 00:56:39.000

Approach. So when I talk about resources, I'm talking about all kinds of resources.

00:56:39.000 --> 00:56:49.000

I'm talking about like social resources. Maybe you have friends who would be willing to help you around the house in exchange for something that you can give to them.

00:56:49.000 --> 00:57:03.000

Maybe you have monetary resources. So you could pay for like someone to come clean your house once a month instead of you using your precious spoons to do so yourself because you have the money to pay someone like that.

00:57:03.000 --> 00:57:24.000

Taking your limitations plus your resources to kind of help create workarounds plus looking at your goals is how you think about your approach so This means tracking what you can actually do in a day, not what you think you should be able to do. So my suggestions, and again, these are just suggestions.

00:57:24.000 --> 00:57:37.000

Include buffer time between activities to account for fatigue or brain fog and just like doing things is tiring Like, I know I need time. I'm going to need time after this class. Just lie in bed and watch Vanderpump Rules for a while.

00:57:37.000 --> 00:57:54.000

Consider using color coding in planners if you're a planner person to track patterns in your energy and productivity. I used to do this especially when I was very sick. I would use like a green dot did indicate a very bad health day and a pink dot for a better one.

00:57:54.000 --> 00:58:04.000

And be aware of your personal limits, like the number of events or tasks you can realistically handle. I said that one was the amount I could handle a while back.

00:58:04.000 --> 00:58:26.000

But now I could probably do two. Another concept I learned from writer therapist and advocate Grace Quantock was what she calls the option two approach. So option one is to keep pushing, trying to fix your day by forcing yourself to meet unrealistic standards. So you're like.

00:58:26.000 --> 00:58:33.000

I'm feeling terrible but i And I have a horrible migraine, but I'm just going to push through anyway.

00:58:33.000 --> 00:58:43.000

And this leads to frustration, exhaustion, work piling up. And probably a flare or more illness if you're dealing with illness.

00:58:43.000 --> 00:59:10.000

Option two is a gentler approach. So do what you can Now, accepting that your work won't be perfect. It's not going to be this mystical thing that you're writing, you can always edit. There's always a revision I wanted to remind you of that. So accept the work won't be perfect, but continuing to move forward despite limitations. So I'm not talking about pushing through pain.

00:59:10.000 --> 00:59:23.000

I'm talking about times when symptoms are acting up, but you can still function at a reduced capacity. Option two allows you to keep momentum without crashing.

00:59:23.000 --> 00:59:30.000

And I do want to make a quick note on publication. This is not a class that is going to focus on publication.

00:59:30.000 --> 00:59:38.000

Because I think there are so many other things that come before that. But I do want to make a brief note on publication approaches for memoirs.

00:59:38.000 --> 00:59:45.000

Typically two paths. One is writing a book proposal first with sample chapters and marketing plans.

00:59:45.000 --> 01:00:05.000

And the other is completing the full manuscript before submission. So for writers with limitations, the book proposal approach can be beneficial. It lets you test the market, reach out to agents. Agents reach out to editors, et cetera, before investing years in a complete manuscript. And if they buy the book.

01:00:05.000 --> 01:00:23.000

You will get an advance of money that will help you survive While you are working on the book. However, literary memoirs often require complete manuscripts. How will you know? Well, usually the agent will say so on their website or if you reach out to them and ask them

01:00:23.000 --> 01:00:29.000

Whether they would prefer a book proposal or a full manuscript, that is how you will know.

01:00:29.000 --> 01:00:41.000

So it is a little bit tricky because you want to consider your energy capacity your timeline and the type of memoir you're doing when deciding on your approach.

01:00:41.000 --> 01:00:56.000

So there are a lot of questions about this, I'd imagine. A quick thing I do want to mention is that We have a cafe that we're going to mention in the resources. It's a free place to go to chat and

01:00:56.000 --> 01:01:05.000

Have me answer questions sometimes but sometimes If you have more questions on publication, I would recommend that you go to the cafe and ask them there.

01:01:05.000 --> 01:01:14.000

And after that quick note on publication. Okay, so let's recap the key insights from our time together.

01:01:14.000 --> 01:01:19.000

So first, finding your best nonfiction topic isn't just about what interests you.

01:01:19.000 --> 01:01:26.000

It's about aligning purpose and story in a way that energizes rather than depletes you.

01:01:26.000 --> 01:01:34.000

Second, structure provides a blueprint for your memoir. That can evolve with your writing. It doesn't have to stay the same.

01:01:34.000 --> 01:01:47.000

Whether you choose a classic triangle, a weird trapezoid, a funnel, a wave, or a spiral, or something totally made up that you just came up with the right structure honors and supports your specific story.

01:01:47.000 --> 01:02:10.000

Third, a sustainable writing practice honors your limitations while still moving forward and that means adapting the conventional wisdom from certain people to your actual circumstances and these principles can transform your approach to memoir writing making it possible to create meaningful work without sacrificing your well-being. So I'm really hoping

01:02:10.000 --> 01:02:25.000

That with these key takeaways, you can go ahead Your story matters. You have something in your soul, in your spirit, in your heart, whatever you want to think of it. You have something that you want to share with the world and the world needs it.

01:02:25.000 --> 01:02:35.000

The world needs your story. And with these key takeaways, I'm hoping that you can reach your goals, achieve your goals, achieve your literary goals.

01:02:35.000 --> 01:02:47.000

And I'm going to be sharing a little bit more about that right now. But before I go ahead with that, I did want to just say really quickly that I believe in you and I believe in your story.

01:02:47.000 --> 01:02:55.000

Okay, so common mistakes. So even with these insights There are common challenges that can derail your progress.

01:02:55.000 --> 01:03:06.000

Unfortunately. So trying to follow rigid advice despite knowing better so This is even advice that I gave you. You don't have to follow everything to the letter.

01:03:06.000 --> 01:03:14.000

Old habits die hard. We often fall back into conventional approaches that don't serve us. It could even be new approaches that don't serve us.

01:03:14.000 --> 01:03:21.000

Another is getting stuck in isolation. Writing can be lonely, especially when your process looks different from others.

01:03:21.000 --> 01:03:29.000

When the people around you are like sitting at their desks for six to eight hours a day writing and you're just like, oh, I could do like five minutes at a time.

01:03:29.000 --> 01:03:36.000

Maybe lacking ongoing support and accountability that understands your unique situation.

01:03:36.000 --> 01:03:56.000

And also missing access to industry expertise about publishing for writers with limitations. So these challenges aren't a reflection of your commitment or ability there are structural issues that require specific solutions.

01:03:56.000 --> 01:04:05.000

So what is the missing piece? Is a comprehensive approach that combines a structured curriculum.

01:04:05.000 --> 01:04:10.000

That guides you step by step through the memoir writing process.

01:04:10.000 --> 01:04:17.000

An adaptive methodology designed specifically for writers with unpredictable energy and capacity.

01:04:17.000 --> 01:04:37.000

Community support from others who really understand your challenges. And professional guidance from experts who can help navigate the publishing landscape. And this combination is what makes the difference between another abandoned project and a completed memoir that you are.

01:04:37.000 --> 01:04:49.000

How does. And so I want to talk about something that I have been working on for a while.

01:04:49.000 --> 01:04:54.000

I would like to introduce you to the Unexpected Shape Writing Academy.

01:04:54.000 --> 01:05:02.000

Thank you all for being here today for the Schaefer Story Masterclass. But before we wrap up, I do want to share something that's deeply personal for me.

01:05:02.000 --> 01:05:20.000

Something I've created specifically for writers like you who are navigating the complexity of writing with limitations. So I know what it's like to have a story burning within you that feels impossible to bring forth, not because you don't have the talent, not because you don't have the determination.

01:05:20.000 --> 01:05:26.000

But because traditional writing advice is just not designed for people whose energy fluctuates.

01:05:26.000 --> 01:05:38.000

Whose health is unpredictable, who have caregiving responsibilities that limit their time and energy your caregiving responsibilities might create a unique rhythm to your days. And that's just your life.

01:05:38.000 --> 01:05:45.000

So many of you have likely experienced this. You start writing. You're very excited. You have a lot of enthusiasm.

01:05:45.000 --> 01:05:54.000

Only to stop when a health flare derails your progress. Or maybe you've tried traditional writing programs in other places.

01:05:54.000 --> 01:06:12.000

Where the right everyday mantra left you feeling inadequate rather than inspired. Or maybe you have that like unique sting of isolation in writing communities where no one understands why you can't just like power through And make the time. I hear this all the time.

01:06:12.000 --> 01:06:27.000

In writing communities it's like if you really cared about writing, you would make the time. And it's like well It's not quite that easy. So I've been there too. Okay. So my second book was, as I've said, largely written on my iPhone while lying in bed.

01:06:27.000 --> 01:06:45.000

Unable to sit upright at a desk. Sitting like I'm doing right now is not something I do often. The conventional narrative about how writers should work simply did not apply to my reality and i know it doesn't apply to many of you either.

01:06:45.000 --> 01:06:51.000

So the truth is. These starts and stops aren't a failure.

01:06:51.000 --> 01:06:59.000

Of discipline or commitment. They're the natural rhythm of creating while navigating limitations. And the problem isn't you.

01:06:59.000 --> 01:07:08.000

I want to say that again. The problem isn't you. It's that you haven't yet found an approach to writing that honors your whole self.

01:07:08.000 --> 01:07:38.000

Limitations included. And this is why I created the unexpected Shape Writing Academy. It's the only My memoir writing program specifically designed for writers navigating chronic illness disability caregiving responsibilities, and other life limitations, whatever those may be. So unlike traditional writing programs simply offer flexibility as an afterthought. The Academy makes honoring limitations fundamental to the whole approach.

01:07:38.000 --> 01:07:47.000

It's built around four core components.

01:07:47.000 --> 01:07:52.000

So what's inside your academy journey? So first, there's the pathway.

01:07:52.000 --> 01:08:13.000

Our structured curriculum of 12 on-demand classes that guide you through pre-writing drafting and publication preparation. So this carefully crafted sequence builds momentum while respecting your energy fluctuations. So each small step you take contributes meaningfully to your larger vision, even on days when you can only manage

01:08:13.000 --> 01:08:35.000

15 minutes of creative work. And one thing that I wanted to make sure was we have transcripts and we also have these classes in the pathway available on a podcast. So if you don't want to just stare at a video for an hour, which I understand. You can also be washing the dishes and listening while on a podcast.

01:08:35.000 --> 01:08:48.000

Perhaps you would be listening to it while caregiving or whatever. I personally find that that's helpful. So I wanted to tell you about that particular element.

01:08:48.000 --> 01:09:00.000

So there's also the canopy, which features exclusive lectures from luminaries like Leslie Jameson, Anif Abdurakib, and Melissa Phobos. I was just re-listening to these because we just revamped the academy.

01:09:00.000 --> 01:09:22.000

And these are gold. These are genius. I mean, this is worth just like thousands of dollars in my opinion. These aren't superficial inspiration talks. They're substantial craft discussions available whenever your body and schedule allow eliminating the anxiety of missing crucial content during flare-ups or caregiving emergencies.

01:09:22.000 --> 01:09:32.000

The compass provides proprietary guided activities like dream hunting with limitations and building a writing habit while living with limitations.

01:09:32.000 --> 01:09:42.000

That have helped hundreds of writers already build sustainable creative practices. These tools help you work with your body, not against it.

01:09:42.000 --> 01:09:53.000

And finally, Art Grove. Our online community where I need to work from bed today or I can only manage 20 minutes is completely understood.

01:09:53.000 --> 01:09:59.000

Join bi-weekly co-working sessions headed by Bailey.

01:09:59.000 --> 01:10:13.000

And monthly group coaching calls where you're never the difficult student asking for accommodations You're simply a writer whose specific circumstances are woven into the fabric of how we work together. And I just want to share, we have had students who have had

01:10:13.000 --> 01:10:21.000

Very uh like very not typically seen accommodation needs and we will always try our very, very hardest.

01:10:21.000 --> 01:10:25.000

To meet your accommodation. So I just want to share that as well.

01:10:25.000 --> 01:10:55.000

So what happens when you join the academy? There is a profound shift from seeing yourself as writers Despite your limitations to recognizing that you're in unique circumstances are integral the stories that only you can tell You will discover a sustainable writing rhythm that works with your body, not against it. You will move beyond the cycle of abandoned projects and finish what you start, and then you will reclaim your creative identity and gain industry ready skills

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I can move your work toward publication this On the screen is the academy journey. We have this beautiful map made and you can see that's not in one direction. It offers lots of different directions. And I think that's very integral to our process as well.

01:11:14.000 --> 01:11:19.000

So here are just some little stories, success stories that we have. Marisol published her book.

01:11:19.000 --> 01:11:35.000

The unexpected Shapes Academy gave me the necessary boost in order to devote myself to the project and your guidance helped me tremendously. I finally finished the book. It is going to be published In 2024 by a small independent publisher in spain

01:11:35.000 --> 01:11:39.000

Mayan, who is actually in this room right now, I think.

01:11:39.000 --> 01:11:53.000

Is said the skills I'm developing through the unexpected Shape Writing Academy are undoubtedly helping me to improve my writing and my knowledge of how to get by writing published.

01:11:53.000 --> 01:11:58.000

So this is just a silly little thing that I made, what this should cost.

01:11:58.000 --> 01:12:05.000

So for all the hours of life coaching, it would be about $1,800 given what I charge.

01:12:05.000 --> 01:12:22.000

This is the silly part. $110,000 for a certain well-known MFA program that I will not name for the MFA that is not accommodating to your needs, that requires you to be in workshop at a certain time when your body is collapsing

01:12:22.000 --> 01:12:27.000

And you can't miss your classes because you have to be there, et cetera, et cetera.

01:12:27.000 --> 01:12:38.000

And $3,300 for the cost of all the bonuses within the academy tallied For a grand total of $115,000 and $100.

01:12:38.000 --> 01:12:46.000

$115,000 and 100. How do you say that? I don't know. Anyway, I don't think so. We're not going to make you pay that.

01:12:46.000 --> 01:12:50.000

I wouldn't say that. And also, this is just a silly number that I pulled.

01:12:50.000 --> 01:13:03.000

Out of the air. But I wanted to say that the unexpected Shape Writing Academy is reopening for enrollment. And as participants in today's webinar, you get exclusive early access.

01:13:03.000 --> 01:13:33.000

To join we have limited spots available to ensure personalized attention for each writer. And I want to pause right now to ask for the third gift card opportunity Which specific aspect of the academy would be most valuable to your writing journey right now, share in the chat.

01:13:35.000 --> 01:13:45.000

Oh, I love these. I love reading these.

01:13:45.000 --> 01:13:50.000

Okay, we have a winner, Bailey, our game show host. Come on. Come on down.

01:13:50.000 --> 01:13:58.000

Hello again. Thank you. Yes, our final winner, I believe, for the day is Sarah Petlin. Thank you, Sarah, for being here.

01:13:58.000 --> 01:14:07.000

Congratulations. Congratulations, Sarah. Thank you so much for being here. Thank you all for being here.

01:14:07.000 --> 01:14:15.000

What I want to let you know is that the unexpected Shape Writing Academy is reopening for enrollment, as I said.

01:14:15.000 --> 01:14:21.000

And it is for three months for the three month cohort from June to August.

01:14:21.000 --> 01:14:37.000

We are charging $290. That's $290 for the three months You have full access to all of the pathway, the canopy, the grope. You have it all and it is for $290.

01:14:37.000 --> 01:14:42.000

There's also a VIP option, which you can learn about when you go to the website.

01:14:42.000 --> 01:14:48.000

And as a bonus, when you enroll during the early bird period, you'll also receive this workbook.

01:14:48.000 --> 01:15:08.000

Called your first five pages. It's a guide specifically designed to help you craft a compelling memoir opening that'll hook readers from the start so this is probably normally $28 and it will be free for you as a bonus.

01:15:08.000 --> 01:15:12.000

You sign up. So join us now.

01:15:12.000 --> 01:15:25.000

What will be an incredible experience. Full details about pricing and enrollment are available through the link I'm sharing now. So enrollment is actually very short. It's closing soon. So I encourage you to secure your spot.

01:15:25.000 --> 01:15:36.000

If this resonates with you and here is the link. To the unexpected shape writing academy so Now that I've finished with that part.

01:15:36.000 --> 01:15:46.000

I do want to say whether or not you join us I really hope today's session has given you valuable insights and a new perspective on writing.

01:15:46.000 --> 01:15:54.000

Within your limitations rather than despite them your story matters. I keep thinking about the Chinua Chebe quote.

01:15:54.000 --> 01:15:59.000

And the world needs the unique wisdom that comes from your experience.

01:15:59.000 --> 01:16:06.000

So we do actually have 15 minutes and I'd love to answer your questions about anything we've covered today.

01:16:06.000 --> 01:16:13.000

Finding your best topic, shaping your memoir, building a sustainable writing practice or the academy itself.

01:16:13.000 --> 01:16:27.000

So let's take a look at some of the questions that have come in. Bailey, would you mind kind of handing those handing those out to me

01:16:27.000 --> 01:16:40.000

Yeah, I can absolutely do that. So one, let me scroll back up a little bit here that came out that I thought was a great question about the academy specifically is from Kelly.

01:16:40.000 --> 01:16:48.000

One of our gift card winners. Hi, Kelly. Is there a best time in one's writing journey to do the academy?

01:16:48.000 --> 01:16:58.000

I would say probably not like i I think there are some times that maybe wouldn't be as useful. So like if you have your full book proposal done.

01:16:58.000 --> 01:17:08.000

And you're like almost finished with writing your full memoir and you have an agent and you have an editor and a book deal, then probably you don't need it as much. Although honestly.

01:17:08.000 --> 01:17:31.000

I have found that as the creator of the academy The guest lectures are really worth the price of admission alone. As I was saying, I was going through the guest lectures earlier just to like do the transcriptions and all that stuff and they were blowing my mind with the stuff that's in there. I mean, we have like, like I said, Leslie Jameson, we have a hanif, we have

01:17:31.000 --> 01:17:42.000

T. Kara Madden. We have Stephanie foo we have Megan O'Rourke, just all kinds of geniuses to say all kinds of amazing things.

01:17:42.000 --> 01:17:55.000

So I would say if you're early in your journey, that's totally fine. We have some Academy Award-win classes that get you like going with the basics and then it does move from pre-writing to writing to publication so i wouldn't say

01:17:55.000 --> 01:18:05.000

There is any particular point that would be best. Anywhere along the journey, I think would be the best, unless you're like at the very end and then probably you don't need this.

01:18:05.000 --> 01:18:20.000

Unless you do just want to access the guest lectures and the community so I don't know. Maybe every time is a good time. I really don't know But I hope that was helpful.

01:18:20.000 --> 01:18:32.000

Great. And I will just throw in the other couple academy specific questions here before we get into some more general questions. So we have a couple people asking about if payment plans are an option.

01:18:32.000 --> 01:18:46.000

Um and We also have a question about whether the resources in the academy will be accessible after someone completes a cohort. So after the three month period, are you still able to access the resources?

01:18:46.000 --> 01:18:52.000

Okay, so we do not have payment plans for the standard Academy membership.

01:18:52.000 --> 01:19:09.000

We do have payment plans for the VIP option. And the other question is, you do not have access to the resources after your cohort finishes, but there is the option to go from month to month.

01:19:09.000 --> 01:19:24.000

Afterward and that then you'll not only still have access to the resources, but you'll still also like be on the group coaching calls. You'll still be able to get your feedback on your work and you'll be able to have access to the community and all those other things so it's

01:19:24.000 --> 01:19:29.000

It's kind of like you're in your cohort, you get access and you can continue if you want.

01:19:29.000 --> 01:19:35.000

Or you can just graduate and go on your merry way.

01:19:35.000 --> 01:19:40.000

Great. And… Another academy question.

01:19:40.000 --> 01:19:49.000

Or another couple. If this summer doesn't work for someone, will the academy be offered again later on or in 2026 for another cohort?

01:19:49.000 --> 01:20:01.000

We can't guarantee this because we are not sure how successful this cohort will be. We don't know how many people are going to sign up. Maybe it'll be a huge flop and I really hope it's not.

01:20:01.000 --> 01:20:09.000

Because I think we've built something incredibly beautiful and wonderful but um we hope to have future cohorts. I'll just say that.

01:20:09.000 --> 01:20:16.000

It does depend on how this cohort goes, but I'm hoping it'll go well and that people will sign up.

01:20:16.000 --> 01:20:21.000

So we do hope to have future cohorts.

01:20:21.000 --> 01:20:26.000

And Desme, what is the typical size of an academy cohort in the past?

01:20:26.000 --> 01:20:37.000

It's it's It's interesting because it's interesting because it'll feel big. Do you happen to know how many people are in the cohort right now?

01:20:37.000 --> 01:20:42.000

In our other academy website, the older one Do you happen to know Bailey?

01:20:42.000 --> 01:20:45.000

I want to say it's

01:20:45.000 --> 01:21:00.000

Yeah, yeah, I would say it's 70 something. But what I would say is 70 seems like a lot and it is in some ways, but not everyone is going to participate. Not everyone is going to be on the calls. Not everyone's going to be on the co-working.

01:21:00.000 --> 01:21:11.000

Not everyone like wants to do group coaching or like things like that. They just want to like watch the videos or listen to the podcast. They just want to like get these guest lectures. They're not interested in the community aspect.

01:21:11.000 --> 01:21:21.000

So sometimes it can feel like the cohort's a lot smaller just because it depends on how many people want to participate in the more community-based things.

01:21:21.000 --> 01:21:27.000

So that's what I would say. Right now, I feel like the cohort is a perfect size.

01:21:27.000 --> 01:21:33.000

And it also doesn't feel too big. So that's what I'd say.

01:21:33.000 --> 01:21:53.000

Great. If folks have additional questions specifically about academy stuff, please feel free to put them in, but I'm going to take a couple of the more general questions now for Esme. So we have From Amy, what's one thing you wish you would have known as you move toward the idea of writing and deciding to pursue publishing?

01:21:53.000 --> 01:22:02.000

What did I wish? I wish that I had known more about the publishing industry. So in one of the guest lectures from Yadan, Israel, who is a editor.

01:22:02.000 --> 01:22:10.000

An editor at random house i think He is one of the guest lectures.

01:22:10.000 --> 01:22:25.000

He speaks a lot about like being aware of the market his recommendation or his homework for anyone watching that class is that you subscribe to Publishers Marketplace. That's where you see like where the book deals happen. That's where you'll see

01:22:25.000 --> 01:22:39.000

Like what books are getting deals. And it's that kind of research or just like knowing the industry that i didn't have Before I started writing, I was just kind of like, la, la, la, like I'm just writing my thing and

01:22:39.000 --> 01:22:57.000

Hoping that when I finish, somebody will want it. And, you know, my first book was rejected 41 times so and was truly almost not never published So I would say an awareness of the market. It sounds really boring, but it is.

01:22:57.000 --> 01:23:02.000

I think very important. Yeah.

01:23:02.000 --> 01:23:10.000

I think that goes really nicely into another question from Christie, which is, what does the landscape for illness memoirs look like now?

01:23:10.000 --> 01:23:19.000

They're a favorite of mine to read and now write. Is this a niche that is saturated or still looking for unique perspectives such as recovery is not the only ending?

01:23:19.000 --> 01:23:32.000

I would say that it is that it is It's saturated with like stuff that all sounds the same, which you can see about like any niche really it's Like one question.

01:23:32.000 --> 01:23:44.000

Somebody asked so I taught a class about like whether or not you need an author platform, yes. And what that means to be building an author platform when you'd rather be writing. And that is in the academy that's one of the

01:23:44.000 --> 01:23:48.000

The classes in the pathway. But the editor I talked to said.

01:23:48.000 --> 01:23:57.000

The platform is not important as long as you're writing an interesting book about something that hasn't been covered yet.

01:23:57.000 --> 01:24:14.000

Written in a solid in a good way that interests the editor. And I would say that was just a good answer for anything so like for illness memoirs if you're writing about something unique that hasn't been covered a million times. If your writing is

01:24:14.000 --> 01:24:39.000

You know solid if you have a solid prose style. If you have something interesting to say you know that's when I would say that's when not to worry about like the quote unquote saturation of the market or whatnot. Now, if you're writing something that's like very similar to like 10 other books about illness that are already out there, then that's when I'd say like, well, yeah, it's like kind of saturated because

01:24:39.000 --> 01:24:51.000

We have this book and this book and this book that are like all kind of similar. And that's another reason to do things like subscribe to publishers marketplace because you can keep an eye on what's being published.

01:24:51.000 --> 01:24:56.000

And what book deals are happening. Okay, we have five minutes, so maybe like one more question

01:24:56.000 --> 01:25:07.000

Great. Okay, I think one really great one that's resonating with folks is Marta's question from the chat, which is.

01:25:07.000 --> 01:25:13.000

What if my writing is terrible? Will someone break it to me? I feel like this is my worst fear.

01:25:13.000 --> 01:25:14.000

Yeah.

01:25:14.000 --> 01:25:33.000

Oh my gosh. Oh, what a question. So I would say that everyone would say that everyone This is a very controversial opinion, but I think anyone can be a good writer. I think that Writing well is a skill and a craft

01:25:33.000 --> 01:25:52.000

As much as it is an art and a talent. So yes, some people are just like talented. They come out of the womb writing basically But you can learn to improve. So if you do happen to be a quote unquote bad writer. And I kind of doubt you are but anyway um

01:25:52.000 --> 01:26:02.000

That if you have that fear and it turns out that like when I think one way you'll find out is like when you start submitting things to places like are you hearing back?

01:26:02.000 --> 01:26:08.000

Like what are the editors saying? Is any editor picking up your pitch? Is any editor picking up your piece?

01:26:08.000 --> 01:26:27.000

Or like if you run a sub stack like are people sharing your sub stack pieces? Are you getting subscribers, etc. There is that kind of like external validation that will help you know whether or not your writing is quote unquote good, which actually just equates to

01:26:27.000 --> 01:26:47.000

Will succeed in the market. And so if you've reached that conclusion that maybe your writing could use some work that's when like learning about craft and stuff like that is important and that's why honestly like the cold reads um which we call the first pass

01:26:47.000 --> 01:27:01.000

Inside the academy that's when like people submit their work ahead of time they can be anonymous or whatever. And then we are just on call for like an hour And I read through the work out loud and I describe like

01:27:01.000 --> 01:27:15.000

What my feedback is like as I'm going through the work So you can hear me like making suggestions And things like that. So that's one way to learn about that stuff.

01:27:15.000 --> 01:27:21.000

Thank you so much. Yes.

01:27:21.000 --> 01:27:22.000

Mm-hmm.

01:27:22.000 --> 01:27:28.000

That's right. I just wanted to jump in with one more thing. It seems like based on someone in the chat that maybe there's an issue with our checkout page because someone is already trying to join us in the category, which is great.

01:27:28.000 --> 01:27:30.000

Oh, no.

01:27:30.000 --> 01:27:44.000

So I just wanted to say that I see that to that person who put that in there. We'll make sure that's fixed and that it's live immediately after we get off this call so that folks can join right away.

01:27:44.000 --> 01:28:00.000

Thank you for letting us know. We are but a tiny team of two and we're doing our best So thank you so much. I want to thank you all so much for joining me today. It's been such a pleasure sharing these ideas with you. I'm so inspired by your commitment to your writing despite

01:28:00.000 --> 01:28:22.000

Challenges of all kinds. Remember, your limitations aren't obstacles to your writing. They're part of what makes your perspective valuable and unique. And yes, they stink sometimes but they're great too in some other ways in helping form that unexpected shape. I hope to see some of you inside the academy and I look forward to one day reading your memoirs.

01:28:22.000 --> 01:28:41.000

Thank you so much. Have a great rest of the day.