Session 1 (Oct. 1, 2020): Good Stories, Meaningful Lives
As we start this course, we aim to understand our lives as good stories and the ways that writing can make them more meaningful. By telling our life story and listening to those of others, we seek coherence and clarity amidst apparent chaos.
Session 2 (Oct. 8, 2020): 2020 Vision
The spotlight in this session will be on “writing for discovery.” When we are young, this is a primary focus in our personal writing. At present “discovery” is not our exclusive interest, but it still is important to ask, “Who am I now, at this age and stage, and what inspires my hope?”
Session 3 (Oct. 15, 2020): The Crafty Life Writer
We need not only the desire to write about our lives, but the ability. This session focuses on the story writing skills of creating scenes and summaries, developing characters, and depicting conflict.
Session 4 (Oct. 15, 2020): Restorying our Lives
We now look back on years filled with experience, but sometimes our lives feel fragmented and disconnected.“Writing for wholeness” helps us to integrate our memories and feelings and to change our lives by changing our story
Session 5 (Oct. 22, 2020): A Call from the Future
After we are gone from this stage of life, each of us will be remembered. This session deals with “writing for legacy,’ sharing with family and friends and members of the next generation some of the challenges we’ve faced, lessons we’ve learned, and wisdom we’ve gleaned in our life journey.
Session 6 (Nov. 5, 2020): Ways of Being
Writing can be a meditative act, an evocative way to go within and beyond ourselves, seeking greater Presence, and to become more fully human.