Name: Shaping Family Stories: A Creative Nonfiction Workshop
Start: 2025-10-26T13:00:00-04:00
Location: Stone Soup Books at the South River

Shaping Family Stories: A Creative Nonfiction Workshop

Six-week writing workshop
Sundays, October 26 - November 30
1:00 - 2:30 pm
with Ruth Ellen Porter
We all have stories worth telling—tales of resilience, courage, love, migration, secrets, or transformation. This course guides students through the craft of capturing and preserving these stories. Through a combination of lectures, writing exercises, and interpersonal feedback, students will learn how to shape real-life stories and memories into coherent narratives. We will explore voice, structure, ethics, and the balance between fact and interpretation. By the end of the course, students will have developed the skills to begin crafting a collection of coherent pieces that honor their family histories and contribute to a deeper understanding of identity, heritage, and memory.
The class will take place at St. John's Episcopal Church (473 S. Wayne Avenue). Workshop fee is $165.
Register now at https://www.thewriterswellva.com/classes.
ABOUT THE INSTRUCTOR:
Dr. Ruth Ellen Porter has taught writing to a wide variety of ages in both community and university settings. She has a core belief that the power of language is transformational and accessible to everyone. Her approach to teaching is individual, caring, and grounded in respect for each writer’s voice. Dr. Porter holds a Ph.D. in Comparative Literature and Linguistics from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, an M.A. in English Writing from Hollins University, and a B.A. in English Communications and Biology from Randolph-Macon Woman’s College.