For many writers, the line between memoir and fiction is fluid—and more and more authors use elements of both in their work. Both memoir and fiction involve crafting a compelling narrative, and novels as well as memoirs are often shaped from the writer’s own experiences. In this course, Bob Hughes, a novelist, playwright, memoirist and former Wall Street Journal reporter, helps students as they write their narratives as fiction or memoir. For each, the goal is the same: to achieve evocative and honest prose. Hughes is a well-regarded novelist (Late and Soon, The Rectory) and writes a blog, Parisian on Purpose, concerning his life in France. Hughes helps writers find and amplify their voice so that regardless of their approach – whether it’s memoir or fiction – their writing sings.
Robert J. Hughes is a former Wall Street Journal reporter, who specialized in cultural coverage, and is a novelist whose Late and Soon (Carroll & Graf) was praised by writers such as Adriana Trigiani and Edmund White for its beautiful prose and depth of characterization. He works as a writer on a variety of projects, from ghostwriting to playwriting, and lives between New York and Paris.