WILD:
An Anti-Outline
Memoir Coven
Image Credit: “Understories” by Abby Alexanian
7 Tuesdays, Sept 23 — Nov 4 @ 6:30-8:30pm EST on Zoom
9/23, 9/30, 10/7, 10/14, 10/21, 10/28, 11/4
The path of memoir is a forest – full of hidden trails, unexpected clearings, and stories that have been quietly growing in places you never thought to look. This class is an invitation to wander off the marked trail of traditional memoir structure and discover what's been waiting for you in the wilderness of your own life.
Sometimes an outline provides too narrow a road, bypassing the very territories where our most potent stories live. Rather than starting with structure or chronology, this generative and community-building class will explore writing into the wildness of a memoir in a non-linear way, allowing the story to reveal its beating heart and its shape over time. Whether you're lost in the woods with a current project or just stepping onto the trailhead of memory, we'll write in response to a different "portal" each week—doorways into the world of your book that you might never have thought to open. Through these unexpected entry points, we'll let the story find us rather than the other way around. By the end of our journey together, you will not only have generated dozens of new pages, but discovered what pulses at the very center of your story.
Registration is limited to 12 students.
As part of this class, students can sign up for a half hour discussion with Arya about their work. Students will also be eligible to receive a $100 discount on Arya's First 50 Manuscript Review or a 15% discount on a full manuscript review. These discounts are redeemable within one year.
Read on below for Commonly Asked Questions:
What kind of writer should take this class?
This seven-week class is writers who are newly or currently working on a memoir, including traditional memoirs, memoirs-in-essays, autofiction, or speculative memoir. This class is intended to support those who are overwhelmed at the start of a project, deeply lost in the middle, or realizing that it’s time to try something new with a current draft — anyone who is ready to step off the beaten track. Most importantly, this class is here for writers who are ready to discover the deeper story of their lives — the one alive and pulsing beneath the more obvious story.
How does this remote class work?
This class will take place on Zoom weekly for 7 Tuesdays, beginning on September 23 from 6:30-8:30pm EST. The first half of class will include teachings and explorations around a specific theme and occasional discussions of any assigned readings for the week. The second half will include around 30 minutes of generative writing and the opportunity to share aloud and receive on-the-spot feedback from peers. You will be encouraged to write 5-10 pages each week outside of class, so that you emerge with 25-50 pages of material by the end.
What kind of feedback will I receive?
Though there won't be formal workshopping, there will be space each week to read your work aloud and receive abundant reflections from fellow travelers. Feedback will be oriented around helping each author to locate the moments of greatest heat, impact, possibility, and to consider opportunities for expansion.
After class ends, there will also be the option to meet with Arya for 30 minutes about your project. You will also be eligible to redeem a discounted editing consultation with Arya for up to 50 pages ($100 off) or for a full manuscript (15% off.)
What is the syllabus for the class?
Below is a list of potential topics & portals that we'll use. However, this list is subject to change based on the dynamics and needs of the particular group.
Week 1: Mosaic of Inspiration – We will make lists to discover patterns, core themes, and unexpected doorways into stories.
Week 2: Senses & Scenes – We will ground our writing in senses and scenes to more fully inhabit our own truths.
Week 2: Obsessions – We will write into our obsessions and unlock the stories most alive inside them.
Week 4: Writing from the Body – We will explore the edges of where our most intimate stories make contact with the external world.
Week 5: Other People’s Problems – We will contend with how to render the people in our lives as dimensional and multifaceted.
Week 6: Throughlines – We will grapple with the dreaded question: “What is your book about?”
Week 7: The Shape of the Story – We will draw from the learnings that have emerged from the past 7 weeks to write into the shape of the story, and where to go next. There may also be a salon where each author has the opportunity to share from their work.
What will writers take away?
Throughout this journey, you'll receive structure without rigidity, accountability without judgment, and the irreplaceable gift of community support. You'll emerge from the class not just with a new set of pages for your next book, but with a new relationship to your own story—one built on trust, curiosity, and the wild intelligence of intuition. You’ll also have access to discounted rates for Arya’s editorial services (see above.)
What have past students said about this class?
“Thank you for teaching this class. The prompts and portals you worked us through appeared to open up everyone’s writing. They certainly did so for me. As the weeks progressed, your awareness of each writer’s recurring themes and styles clearly shone through. Your warmth and style emboldened everyone and kept us alert to each other’s voices. Your class got me thinking about writing in ways I had not before, and I wrote more these past weeks than I have in years.” ”
“Arya is one of the best writing instructors I have ever had. She is kind, gentle, and encouraging, offering constructive insights on student writing as well as the writing process. She creates an open, supportive, and collaborative space for writers to share their work. Her dedication to writing and to writers is inspiring. I am encouraged by her approach to writing as ritual and I am grateful for her emphasis on the discovery process”
“Taking Arya Samuelson’s class on Wildness not only once, but twice, led me to trust my body and my memory to begin to write stories about my life. I found that Arya’s writing prompts are direct, yet gentle, eliciting me to consciously enter portals that led to startling insights into my past. Her suggestion that we write each day caused me to think ahead about what I would write each week and helped me to overcome procrastination about my writing. By the end of the course, I wrote a piece that helped me work through an experience in my life that has plagued me for decades. Arya’s kind and supportive interactions with all of the participants of the class helped me feel more courageous about reading my work.”
“This was the first writing class I have taken in my adult life. You created such a safe environment within which we in the class often joked felt like a group therapy session (in the best way possible). I loved your gentle style, guiding us during writing exercises, allowing time for reflection and sharing. I actually came out with a chapter for my memoir. I loved hearing what my peers thought about my writing, and this aspect has encouraged me to keep going. ”