Incorporating research can enliven our narratives, add resonance to the stories we tell, and make the personal universal.

for Creative Nonfiction, Narrative Nonfiction

Amy Shea’s powerful essay in the Massachusetts Review, “Deaths of Disparity,” weaves personal experience, narrative, and research into addiction and treatment to explore questions of human dignity. What makes this essay so effective, and how can you figure out when, how, and how much research to include in your creative writing? 

Join Amy Shea as she pulls back the curtain on her process and deconstructs her long-form essay. We will explore why to include research, how hard facts and cultural context can improve an essay, considerations on how to format and present those facts, the balance of critical and creative elements, and how to enhance braided research and narrative through literary elements such as voice, tone, and register. 

Class will include time for close reading of other examples and writing practice.

Can’t make it live? No worries—a replay will be available to all registrants.

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In this webinar, you will:

• LEARN to identify when research can serve your story—and when it might distract
• EXPLORE ways to weave facts seamlessly into a narrative without losing emotional impact
• EXAMINE well-integrated research in creative nonfiction 
• GAIN INSIGHT through a behind-the-scenes look at the presenter’s process and essay
• PRACTICE incorporating research into your own writing through guided exercises

This webinar is ideal for writers at any level who:

• Want to move beyond purely personal narratives
• Are interested in weaving research into essays without losing their creative voice
• Are ready to transition from short pieces to longer-form work
• Want to explore braiding multiple elements in a non-chronological structure
• Enjoy studying other writers’ processes to deepen and inspire their own practice

Closed captioning is available. ✔
All registrants receive the recording. ✔

ABOUT YOUR PRESENTER

AMY SHEA is an essayist and is the author of Too Poor to Die: The Hidden Realities of Dying in the Margins. Her work has appeared in The Missouri Review, Pangyrus, Portland Review, The Massachusetts Review, Spry Literary Journal, Fat City Review, From Glasgow to Saturn, and the Journal of Sociology of Health & Illness. She works as the Writing Program Director for Mount Tamalpais College, a free community college for the incarcerated people of San Quentin.

Questions? Please email Info@writingcraft.com

FULL REFUNDS ARE AVAILABLE before the replay is sent out. For a refund, EMAIL us at info@WritingCraft.com. Canceling your Zoom invite will not initiate this process.

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