Years ago, it was customary for students in English classes to write their assignments using nothing more than a pencil, a sheet of paper and their imaginations. In elementary school, I remember learning to write in cursive — which probably looks like another language to kids today. The shapes of those squiggly letters held a certain charm and beauty, and I quickly learned that those were the stepping stones to story-telling. I didn’t understand it then, but I later learned that the written word has served as the vehicle for preserving the most important stories and concepts in recorded history — many of which still resonate with us after thousands of years.

We oftentimes overlook the literary arts in our day-to-day lives in favor of faster, more easily digestible forms of communication. After all, it’s so much quicker to watch a video clip than it is to read a book, or even an article in a magazine. I would argue, however, that the literary arts still deserve a place in our lives and in our community.

A prime example of this comes in the form of our recent memoir and biography-writing classes at the Averitt Center for the Arts. Hosted by local ghostwriter and book coach Jordan Fennell, these classes focus on helping students avoid some of the most common pitfalls writers face when writing a memoir or the story of a loved one, while also teaching them how to outline and structure their stories, write dialogue, create vivid “scenes” in the mind of the reader and more.

Jordan uses one of his previous client’s books as a template for instruction, which is given to each student free of charge. Past students have written several chapters of their stories by the end of these classes, with plenty of techniques and strategies to help them continue their projects after the class ends. 

There is so much valuable history in our community, and these classes help students preserve some of that history, even if they just want to write for their own families and friends.

We offer a month-long Intro to Memoir kickstart class, as well as a three-month-long Advanced Memoir Writing class, exclusive to those who have already taken the introductory class. So far, these have been held on Wednesdays from 6:30–8 p.m. in the second-floor conference room at the Averitt Center, and we will offer these classes again beginning at the end of the summer.

For more information or to pre-register for classes, please contact the Averitt Center at (912) 212.2787.