If someone asked you to sum up the story of your life in one sentence, what would it be? If you had to choose just half a dozen family photos to tell your life story, what photos would you choose? Why? In which of those photos is there a contrast between appearance and reality? You want to tell the truth, of course, but what version? How far can you go in exploring the darker side? How fair is it to reveal family secrets? These are questions the workshop considers early on in order to set you free to tell your story as it needs to be told. As for me, I was born on the Jewish North Side of Chicago, bar mitzvahed, a sailor, amnesiac, university professor, newspaper editor, food reviewer, and father of five children. I love teaching this class because of the excitement and pleasure of serving as coach, midwife, and editor to the participants and their auto (self-generated), bio (life story), graphies (writings). Topics include: • Use of dialogue and natural story telling voice • Audio/visual elements for interviews • Methods of organizing • Getting your reader's attention • Exploring the darker side • Telling secrets • How far can you go? • Incorporating photos, maps and other documents Bring six or more family photos and notes, diaries, journals, and/or works in progress. Also bring a notebook and pen for in-class writing exercises, and a box of crayons and colored pencils. Upon registration, please send 2-3 pages of your work-in-progress, if you have one, to robert@robertsward.com