Memoir Writing Intensive: Avoiding the Potholes of Memory Lane

Join us for five days of online learning from May 11 to 15, 2026.

ABOUT

Memoir Writing Intensive: Avoiding the Potholes of Memory Lane is a week for writers looking to shape lived experience into meaningful story, with sessions exploring big-picture memoir ideas such as:

• finding the right slice of a life;
• identifying the hook or angle;
• creating structure;
• writing for legacy as well as publication;
• using interviews and memory as tools for excavation;
• connecting to your readers through personal narrative;
• and navigating ethics, consent, and the many truths that memoir must hold.

The week of learning, activities, and connection will include ten (10) hour-long sessions, including a Q&A midweek and a wrap-up event on Friday at 4 p.m. for participants to reflect on what they've learned and their future goals.

Presentations will be recorded and available to registrants for 45 days after the intensive. The recordings will all be emailed at once, within a week of the end of the intensive. Socials and writing sprints will not be recorded. 

EVENT SCHEDULE OVERVIEW

All times are in Pacific (Vancouver) time

11:00 am Workshop sessions

2:00 pm Workshop sessions or socials 

DETAILED SCHEDULE

MONDAY May 11

9:00-10:00 AM: Introduction, Tech Help, & Writing Sprint

Join your friendly FBCW team for a quick overview of the week's structure, a chance to get help with Zoom or the event's other technical requirements, followed by a 30 minute writing sprint. 

11:00 AM: Exploration for Personal Narrative (Part 1) with Stella Harvey

In this two-part workshop, Stella Harvey explores personal narrative as a form of first-person storytelling that transforms lived experience into meaningful, resonant writing. Participants will consider what makes personal narrative effective, including perspective, emotional honesty, structure, reflection, and connection with the reader. This workshop will help writers move beyond simply recounting experience and begin shaping memory into story with clarity, purpose, and emotional impact.

2:00 PM: To Share or Not to Share with Višnja Milidragović

Get tips and learn strategies for navigating the emotional, ethical, and practical challenges of sharing drafts with loved ones. Through examples, reflections, and discussion, participants will explore how to seek out and apply feedback without compromising authorial integrity with the help of memoirist and SFU's The Writer's Studio alum Višnja Milidragović.

TUESDAY May 12

9:00-10:00 AM: Writing Sprint 

Start the day with some quiet writing time. A prompt will be provided.

11:00 AM: Interviewing as Excavation with Rachel Dunstan Muller

Whether you’re mining your own memories or interviewing other people, the right preparation will set you up for richer results. We’ll explore the use of open-ended prompts, silence, sensory recall, and other tools that will help you dig deeper, plus the value of triangulating accounts for accuracy.   

2:00 PM: Top Ten Content Mistakes with Stephanie Waterson

Writer, editor, and podcaster Stephanie Waterson shares the top ten content mistakes she wishes she didn't have to edit in clients' works. Find solutions and learn what editors look out for! 

WEDNESDAY May 13

9:00-10:00 AM: Writing Sprint  

Start the day with some quiet writing time. A prompt will be provided.

11:00 AM: Memoir Structure with Dana Goldstein 

Quell the chaos and clarify your work with memoirist, journalist, and novelist Dana Goldstein. This interactive presentation will help memoir writers in any stage of their manuscript figure out their theme, determine a structure and outline key points. 

2:00 PM-3:30PM: Discussion and Q&A

Details coming soon!

THURSDAY May 14

9:00-10:00 AM: Writing Sprint  

Start the day with some quiet writing time. A prompt will be provided.

11:00 AM: Ethics with Christina Myers

When we write about our own lives, what kind of ethical framework should guide us? How do we work in the intersection of truth and creativity without straying into misleading embellishment and untruth? This session will include time for questions from participants.

2:00 PM: Memoir is Not a Life, it's a Lens with JJ Lee

Learn the braiding structures and techniques applied by memoirist and nonfiction anthology editor JJ Lee to integrate a wide range of nonfiction forms into one work of memoir.

FRIDAY May 15

9:00-10:00 AM: Writing Sprint 

Start the day with some quiet writing time. A prompt will be provided.

11:00 AM: Keeping True Stories True with Lynne Melcombe

In this session, review how memory works, why nonfiction writers should never rely on memory alone, and how memoirists can ensure they're not unwittingly allowing inaccurate recollections to turn factual accounts of their lives into fictional flights of fancy.

2:00 PM: Exploration for Personal Narrative (Part 2) with Stella Harvey

Join Stella Harvey again to discuss and exchange feedback on personal narrative, and explore practical next steps for your work. 

4:00 PM: Wrap-Up 

A chance to chat with the new friends you made this week! We'll use breakout rooms so you can choose the discussion topics that interest you. To suggest a breakout room theme, email jennifer@bcwriters.ca. 

ZOOM LINK

• The Zoom link will be included in your registration confirmation and in follow-up reminders.

• We will be using the same zoom link for the duration of the event.

• Please watch your email for a confirmation of registration email.

• If you do not receive your confirmation within 24 hours of registration, please check your spam folders.

• Contact us at hello@bcwriters.ca if you have not received your confirmation by Thursday, May 7th to ensure we can get you the needed information.

RECORDINGS

• Sessions (except social/discussion-based events) will be recorded and made available for 45 days after the last session.

WHAT TO EXPECT

• Sessions will be a combination of talks, activities, and workshops.

• The FBCW's statement of participant expectations applies in all settings. Please help us make this intensive a fun, safe experience for our presenters and community members by being respectful and considerate in your participation. 

• Most sessions will be 1 hour in length. Q&A may extend the session, but participants are not required to stay.

• Participants are encouraged to have a pen and paper handy for all sessions.

RATES

• FBCW MEMBERS: $69.50
• GUEST: $89
• SCHOLARSHIP: Limited scholarship-based discounts are available for those experiencing financial difficulties. Please email us at hello@bcwriters.ca to inquire.

POLICIES

RECORDINGS

• Our presenters are provided with contracts that stipulate the length of time that recordings are available. We are obligated to respect these contracts. No extensions are possible.

• Reach out if you have any tech challenges related to access of the recordings so that we can help you in the timeframe available.

REFUND POLICY

• Full refunds will be issued up to April 30^th at 11:59pm.

• Refunds for half of registration fees will be be issued until May 9^th 11:59pm.

• No refunds are possible after May 9^th at 11:59pm except in the case of severe illness, death, or other urgent situations determined on a case-by-case basis.

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

• We are an organization that cherishes the work of writers and artists. To that end, we ask that all participants respect the intellectual property of our presenters, recordings, and material shared. Do not reproduce or distribute Writing Intensive materials without written permission.

• Similarly, if other participants share information or excerpts from their projects, please respect their intellectual property.

LIABILITY

• In registering, participants understand and agree that the Federation of BC Writers (FBCW), its board, staff, presenters, and members are not liable for any damages or losses arising and waive any of the above from any and all liability.

• The FBCW provides a space for presenters to share their experiences and insights with participants. The writing industry is a complex and ever-changing environment. As such, the FBCW does not endorse any specific information shared in our programming as being complete or accurate in all scenarios. Participants have a responsibility to research and make informed decisions on any information given or implied.

• Difficult and triggering topics can arise as part of artistic practices that are unforeseeable for staff, volunteers, and other participants. The FBCW is not liable for any damages or harms caused by participating in our programming.

PARTICIPANT EXPECTATIONS

• The FBCW is an organisation that celebrates diversity and inclusion; taking part in the program means that participants are expected to be respectful, inclusive, and support the dignity of all people regardless of age, sex, gender, sexual orientation, ancestry, language, ability, nationality, ability, health status, religion, and socioeconomic status. All people have identities that intersect the categories above. Examples of behaviour that undermine the above are: crude jokes, unwanted communication, statements minimising others’ experiences/histories, and threats.

• Participants are expected to arrive a few minutes before sessions start.  This allows for any technical issues to be resolved without the group being disrupted.

• If a participant is late, we ask that they refrain from asking “what did I miss” type questions so that the event can proceed smoothly.  Staff and facilitators will do the best they can to assist if vital information has been shared, but the recording should be able to resolve any questions of this nature.

• We ask that participants be mindful of the amount of time they speak at events. All participants should have the ability to join in. Participants are expected to keep comments on topic and under a minute so that as many people as possible can participate.

• Participants understand that if they are muted, it is not an intentional slight to them, but is needed to keep the session moving forward.  Participants can be muted at the discretion of the FBCW facilitators.

• Difficult topics can arise, and participants understand that we cannot always know or understand other people’s histories. To help make the space as welcoming and safe as possible, if a participant’s is to share information or read excerpts from works that contain certain themes (outlined below), they will identify this prior to reading it to the group. (e.g. sexual assault, extreme violence, self-harm/eating disorders/suicide ideation, abortion/miscarriage, mental illness, graphic adult content).

• Participants are expected to understand, be sensitive to, and respect the fact that the work of writers, and their opportunity to read their work may be triggering and/or therapeutic to them. Artistic works require vulnerability and the safety to be vulnerable, especially with sensitive topics. Participants agree to do their best to maintain a safe and supportive space for the sharing of the work, regardless of its nature.

ACCOMMODATIONS AND ACCESSIBILITY

• The Federation of BC Writers strives to make our events accessible to folks across ability and neurodivergence. We will do what we can to make our programming available to all people.

• Our programming is based on zoom which means there are some limitations on what can be accomplished, but also advantages such as closed captioning and the ability to join from anywhere.

• Accommodations are assessed on a case-by-case basis.

• Accommodations that would significantly hinder the ability of other participants to be involved or participate are not possible.

• Some accommodations may be beyond our financial and administrative capabilities. In such cases, we will seek funding or alternatives if possible.

• Sessions normally last for an hour. Participants are welcome to step way from their computers if they need to while turning off their camera and microphone, but we will not be able to fill people in on what they missed. Participants are asked to return to the recording in such instances.