Snappy Chapters in Non-Fiction & Memoir

INSTRUCTOR: Sean Morrissey
​TIME: Saturday, March 1, 9:30 am-12:30 pm CST/CDT
PRICE: Early bird price: $45 for members, $60 for nonmembers. The deadline for early bird pricing is Sunday, February 23. After Sunday, February 23: $55 for members, $70 for nonmembers. Become a member here. Apply for a scholarship here.
LOCATION: Writespace, 1907 Sabine Street, #125, Houston, TX 77007 (map).
LEVEL: All levels
CAP: 15

There's a rhythm to plot, there are rhythms to sentences--but what about chapters? The specifics of how to draw your reader into devouring "just a few more pages" depend upon your ability as a writer to begin and end chapters with just the right hint of intrigue and drama.

In this workshop we will examine successful examples of snappy chapters in creative non-fiction, memoir, and non-fiction, through the lessons of chapter construction are useful for all genres. From textbooks to autofiction, emotional outpourings to just-the-facts histories, authors can make anything exciting with the right tools!

Sean Morrissey Carroll is an author in Houston, Texas, programming director for Writespace Writing Center, and co-host of Writers Lunch. He’s been a bookseller, photography teacher, butcher, cartoonist, waiter, art critic, crepemaker, vintage fashion grader and sign painter. Published in Art in America, Artforum.com, Bullshit Literary, Defunkt Magazine, Houston Press, and Gulf Coast magazine, Sean’s story “Future Floods of Houston” was nominated for a PEN/Dau Award.

Photo by Mason C on Unsplash

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