Is an autofiction workshop right for you?

Five FAQs with video answers from my Zoom archive

Early on in every autofiction course I’ve taught, and that includes both introductory and advanced classes, a student will interrupt one of my craft lectures with the deceptively simple question… what are the rules for autofiction? To my ears, the underlying question for this writer is… why does genre have to be so complicated?

As I see it, the confusion stems from a unique aspect of autofiction which, unlike fiction and memoir, permits, even encourages, authors to oscillate between “I” and “not I” as they navigate the roles of author, narrator and main character and move deliberately between fact and fiction.

The same fluidity that produces this creative freedom can stump a writer, especially one who hasn’t yet completed a memoir or novel, as they traverse, exploit, and even mock rules and craft conventions more commonly associated with one genre alone. Particularly in trauma-centered works of autofiction — the focus of my own writing and teaching — the author is, in effect, acknowledging the unreliability of memory while exploiting the reader appeal of a story that resonates as true. Ironically, they’re producing a manuscript whose cover will inevitably identify it as a “novel,” aka a work solely derived from their imagination.

To help writers who are considering writing or rewriting a life-inspired story as autofiction, I’ve drafted this list of common FAQs with answers in the form of video clips from my autofiction class Zoom archive. You’ll notice that while these questions deal with typical craft issues relevant for any genre, my answers reflect theory and craft specifically related to autofiction as a distinct genre with its own rules and conventions.

These excerpts also provide a taste of my teaching style and the scope of my courses.

 For beginning writers, my six-week introductory workshop titled When Memoir Becomes Autofiction, starts September 8.

To nail your protagonist and find your plot, my 12 week, Intermediate Autofiction course is for you. Starts October 22, 2025.

If you have a story idea and a few chapters in hand, I’m offering a twelve-month Advanced Autofiction Workshop and Mentorship intended to help writers complete a solid first draft, launching April 1, 2026.

Autofiction FAQs

1)         Why fictionalize your life story in the first place?

2)         How does plot derive from character and trauma?

3)         What are the rules and conventions for writing autofiction?

4)         How does point of view shape your story?

5)         What if I’m scared shitless? Spoiler (we all are)