Soul Stories

Anthologies like the Chicken Soup, Chocolate and Cup of Comfort series are filled with stories that weave compelling life lessons into vividly told tales. They grab us by the throat from the first sentence and keep us looking for more long after we’ve read the last word. They might be non-fiction, but they read like best selling novels that take us on unforgettable journeys. Revealing our humanity, autobiographical non-fiction provides insight, inspiration and, of course, entertainment. Fusing real life to imagination is what it’s all about when selling to the anthology market.

Course Type: Reading, writing exercises, discussion and personal feedback from other students and instructor. One-on-one instruction.

Objective: This course will provide writers with the necessary tools to write and edit autobiographical stories for the anthology market. Each lesson builds on the previous one-- taking learners from the idea stage to the writing stage. Students will brainstorm ideas and create an idea folder for future stories with the assistance of the instructor. They'll receive personalized suggestions and on their work. Each student should be prepared to write and edit one story and learn the tools to write many more stories.

Learner Prerequisites: Have a basic understanding of non-fiction and an interest in writing autobiographical stories.

Class Materials: To be provided via e-mail attachments weekly. Discussion to
take place via an e-mail loop.

Each week the instructor will send class lessons, handouts, and assignments. Students are asked to submit one piece of writing to be critiqued by the teacher before the next class.

Week One: Getting Started – Writing a Soul Story: What makes a story a “Soul Story?” We’ll look at a variety of anthologies and discuss what the intrinsic elements are to constructing a story for publication. We'll use free writing to unearth raw, unedited material and hone with diversity, resonance and voice.

Writing Assignment: Select two separate memories-- your earliest memory and an important memory from the past year and write up to 250 words on each one, including detail about sensory perceptions and the emotions they evoke.

Week Two: Details Please – The Importance of People and Place: This week we'll learn how to use chutzpah to write our stories. Using the energy of our lives we’ll zero in on the details – showing vs. telling. Use Uncle Harry’s staccato chuckle, or your best friend's father's unusual penchant for knitting, and your stories will come alive for your readers.

Writing Assignment: A 500-word scene from your life when a place or a person had special significance. Use descriptive language to "show" the place or person to your reader.

Week Three: From Beginning to End: This week we'll learn how to hot wire a story from the first sentence and force readers to go on to the next sentence… and the next… and the next. Conclusions, on the other hand, serve as a final springboard… they send you off, as I like to say, with a full belly and a hug goodbye.

Writing Assignment: Write a scene from your life and find the lesson or aha moment that transforms it into an essay (maximum 750 words).

Week Four: How to critique: What stays and what goes? One of the hardest parts about writing is sharing your work with others. This lesson will provide some guidelines to help you give - and receive – criticism before sending a story off to an editor.

Writing Assignment: Rewrite a previous story drawing on the techniques used in previous lessons. (maximum 1000 words).

Week Five: Voice & Style: It’s time to put your voice into your writing. This week we’ll focus on our individual voices, word choice and clarity. We’ll polish your prose so it glows, and learn some common grammatical pitfalls to avoid.

Writing Assignment: To help develop your personal voice, write a letter to someone you're close to, telling about something important in your life (maximum 500 words); Then try to maintain that voice as you write polish the final draft of an essay (maximum 1000 words).

Week Six: To Market: It's tough to make a living as an essayist. That doesn't mean, though, that there aren't markets for your work. The key to getting published is careful analysis of what they publish, and PERSISTENCE.

Writing Assignment: Study a market and submit guidelines (using form) along with final finished essay (maximum 2000 words).

Julia Rosien lives in Ontario with her husband and four children. She began writing shortly after the birth of her fourth child. A debilitating depression threatened to consume her, but Julia used her writing as a therapy-- bridging the gap between sadness and joy.

Julia now uses her talents to teach creative writing at a community college and at a federal prison for women. Prison, a place she never expected to work, gives her a sense of purpose and fulfillment.

Julia's contributes regularly magazines and newspapers in Canada and the US. Some of her publishing credits include Cup of Comfort for Women, Chocolate for Women (2003), CBC Radio, The Christian Science Monitor, Pregnancy, ePregnancy, Skirt, and Whispers from Heaven.

“I took your course to learn new things about journaling and to encourage me to journal. I achieved both! Thanks to your class I even started a separate travel journal. I thoroughly enjoyed your class and encourage others to try your journaling methods. I’ve used a journal in the past but your lectures helped me free flow it and get past the hurdles standing in my way.”

“Your course helped me structure my thoughts better and to dig deeper to uncover truths that sometimes scare me.”

“I must tell you Julia that your class has turned out to be all and more than I expected. I really enjoy your teaching style-- it feels like being in the home of a friend rather than in a classroom setting. All we need now is coffee and dessert!”

“I have been writing more personal poems since I took your class and a couple of have been accepted in journals. Your course helped me open my emotions on the page. This was the perfect class for me. Many thanks.”