The Story Waiting to be Told
October 9, 2025
Something magical happens when we actually write a story that’s long been bubbling inside us. It clarifies. It starts to reveal a meaning we hadn’t even imagined. It shows us how something we barely noticed when it arose has led to another thing that’s quite extraordinary.
Over the years people have often asked me how to start… or continue with… or finish a personal memoir they’ve been longing to write.
I’ve been glad to share tricks and techniques that have helped me stick with, finish, and publish many writing projects over the years: Write just 20 minutes a day until you want to write longer. Use colored fonts for different notes you make for yourself. Have fun with transitions; they’re essential!Although I’ve responded to the individual person asking, I never really considered the subject from a more general perspective.
That changed when my good friend, an award-winning journalist and nonfiction writer Lauren Chambliss suggested we create a program for people who want to write a personal narrative about some aspect of their life. She recently retired from teaching writing and communication at Cornell, and she has thought a great deal about what it takes to write one’s own story.
Over several months, we talked a lot about the kind of program we’d like to offer to people who long to write about some aspect of their life. We combined our perspectives and got excited about creating an experiential course that would be fun to take and would support people in completing a finished product, whether it’s an essay, an article, or a book.
What we came up with is Writing the Story of You.
Our 9-month online program will begin February 10, 2026.
With our personalized slate of tips, techniques, and tools, writers with a personal narrative that wants to be shared will access their creativity and upgrade their writing skills to turn ideas and drafts into publishable work. Optional nature-based practices between sessions will help to deepen the unfolding story.
Writing the Story of You will include:
• Nine, two-hour online sessions, the second Tuesday of every month, starting February 10
• Each of the nine experiential sessions will be devoted to learning and practicing a different skill, with handouts and activities to expand your experience between sessions.
• Two individualized editing sessions with Trebbe or LaurenCost:
$1,200.00For more details, including specifics of what you’ll learn, see my website.