How We See: Description in Memoir
ONLINE with Book Passage
Four Saturdays: Oct 31 – Nov 21, 2026
10:00 am – 12:30 pm Pacific Time
“How we see the world reveals who we are.” —Ocean Vuong
Memoir is an imagining of the past, a re-creation of sights sounds and experience. Description is one of our most powerful tools. It sets the scene and engages the reader through sensory detail.
When we write, the details of scene also reveal the one who is looking. The way the narrator sees, hears and feels lets us know who they are. More than a series of events, memoir offers insight into the heart of the storyteller. This workshop explores how description illuminates the character of the narrator and offers access to their inner world. Format includes readings, writing exercises, discussion and supportive feedback. Class size is limited.
Topics include: Embodied writing – The role of description in writing scene – Understanding the narrator as character – How description conveys a narrator’s innermost thoughts and feelings.
*Classes will be recorded and available to participants for a limited time.
Fee: $385
To register: call Book Passage at 415.927.0960. Online registration coming soon!
I joined Connie’s Memoir Workshop to give myself a jump start and received much more. Her enthusiasm for my book concept, her skill with craft, and her creative approach to memoir were inspiring, supportive, and always instructive. I have rarely met a more gifted teacher.
—Nancy Hazen
Therapist, Writer
Connie’s workshops are where I began to write, before I knew I wanted to write, or whether I could write. That’s where writing got under my skin.
—Valerie Ann Leff
Author, Better Homes and Husbands
It was a challenge to write in the second person, to plunge into a dream sequence and to write a braided essay. Listening to others read their stories and participating in discussions inspired me to write about bees, ancestors and fresh tomatoes in copper colanders. Every daily observation suddenly became food for story.
—Donna Bruzzese
Therapist, Writer
The act of critiquing isn’t just some act of generosity. It is how most writers learn to write.
—Steve Almond