"We've had a masterclass."                                                              - Judy, writer and coach

"Working under Jon's guidance brought a sharpness to my writing. He's a very gentle guide who makes you believe in yourself and in your craft. Jon is able to convey where he would like to see one go with one's writings, in a deft albeit subtle way. "

 - Kamalini 

writer and teacher

With successful courses in north and south London,

new classes will be announced for 2019

Please read about our courses below.

Register for the Peckham sessions: 

Coming soon

Register for the Primrose Hill sessions:

Writing memoir relies on memory, but it doesn't mean you must be enslaved to the facts.  Memory is imperfect and facts can be refuted.  Instead, we encourage you to find your truth - your emotional truth - and write your story to find the meaning behind the story.

In finding the truth you can still exercise your need for creativity.  The modern craft of writing memoir welcomes and encourages the use of tools formerly reserved for writers of fiction.  This introductory workshop will compel you to write with ambition and imagination using the elements fundamental to creative writing.

Each session will focus on a specific writing component and will include discussions about creative writing as it pertains to memoir, exemplified by proven published works, combined with in-class and take-home writing tasks.

We all have a story to tell.  Maybe you have something to share, something to teach or a legacy you feel compelled to leave.  Writing memoir may connect your life with others or simply help you to connect with yourself.  This workshop will help you bring your memories to life.

Course 1 Outline: Introduction to Memoir Writing

Session 1 - Introduction to Memoir  You will discover what memoir is and how it relates to other writing genres.  We'll discuss the differences between 'truth' and 'fact' and explore ways of finding truth in your writing.

Session 2 - Using the Senses  All good writing touches the reader by connecting with their senses - all six of them.  You will learn how to use the senses to create truthful, sensual and immediate narratives.

Session 3 - Characters  One way or another, stories have characters.  Just because you may be writing about real people doesn't mean the reader will believe they are real.  We'll talk about writing real people, the advantages, the pitfalls and the truth.

Session 4 - Dialogue  Do people speak?  Of course they do.  Do your characters speak? Definitely.  Should you be expected to repeat a real conversation verbatim?  Certainly not. You'll discover how to bring your characters to life through the use of dialogue.

Session 5 - Structure  There's no right way to tell a story, but there may be a different way than you thought.  You will look at different narrative structures toward finding the most compelling and readable method for you.

Session 6 - Voice  That ever-elusive, bodiless, holy grail sought by writers everywhere. What is it? How do you find yours?  And what do you do with it once you've found it?  Learn how the memoirist's voice is the key to finding and sharing your truth.

Session 7 - To celebrate the completion of the course, all writers will be offered a chance to read their new memoir work in a public reading for their invited guests.  

The course is facilitated by Jon Magidsohn.

Course 2 Outline: Memoir and Life Writing

This course is aimed at providing greater insight into the ingredients of compelling memoir writing.  Through discussions and writing tasks, this course will help you discover the paths to your own truths, your stories and how to share them.

Session 1 - Finding a story to tell.  ‘Who cares?’  The real question is, ‘Why do you care?’  What is important to me about this story?  Why have I carried it with me all these years?  What role does it play in my life?  

Session 2 - Finding a way in  After combing through your memory banks and discovering the big themes of your stories and what they mean to you, where do you begin?  As the cliché goes, begin at the beginning. 

Session 3 - Slowing down the action/writing slowly  Sometimes key points of your narrative may require more than just a mention on balance with the rest of the narrative.  We'll discuss how the expansion of thought will fully encompass the weight of the moment.

Session 4 - Metaphors  Very often what we’re writing about is not what we’re writing about. 

Session 5 - Living in the world  It’s easy for anyone who spends time writing to fall deep within themselves, much to the benefit of the memoirist.  But we do not live on a planet with a population of one.  We need to remind ourselves and our readers that we are also grounded in the world around us.

Session 6 - Vision “Imagine what you are writing about.  See it and live it. Do not think it up laboriously, as if you were working out mental arithmetic.  Just look at it, touch it, smell it, listen to it, turn yourself into it.  When you do this, the words look after themselves, like magic.” – Ted Hughes

The course is facilitated by Jon Magidsohn.

Please email info@magpiewriting.co.uk or phone +44 07599451819 for information. Register by clicking the appropriate payment tab, or contact us.