LLWRC 767 - Non-Fiction Writing Workshop: The Trauma Essay

Writing can be healing but can also re-traumatize, making it difficult to tell the stories that shape us. In this one-day intensive, writers will gain an understanding of how the physiological processes of trauma and shame interact with a writing practice. Together, we'll sidestep trauma writing stumbling blocks by using activities adapted from clinical practice to safely consider the structure of traumatic events. Drawing on two published essays about sexual and domestic violence, we'll dive into the ways we might frame, order, and nuance our experiences of trauma, elevating a personal story into a universal inquiry and owning on the page our complicated, contradictory selves. This class is intended for writers of Non-Fiction and Memoir, with previous writing experience, and is not a support group, nor is it intended to take the place of mental healthcare. But for those who have already begun to resolve physiological traumas, it will offer a stable, supportive environment to study the craft of writing these stories that, well told, have so much to offer society. Plan for a 30 min break for lunch.