One of the most effective ways of processing grief is to express one’s experience as a story. Following a tried-and-true formula (“Once upon a time . . . . Then, one day . . .”), participants will learn how to help grieving members of their community to identify, begin, and structure an autobiographical story (fiction or non-fiction) about a loss they have suffered. Participants will finish the workshop with a three-sentence (for children) or three-paragraph (for adults) beginning of a new essay, story, novel, memoir, or children’s story based on the death of a loved one, with optional follow-up advice (for staff) on how to run such a workshop in the future.

Instructor Bio: David Hicks, PhD is a five-time “Professor of the Year” and Director of Creative Writing at the nationally ranked Wilkes University MFA graduate program. He is the author of two novels–WHITE PLAINS (Bower House Books) and THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO DANNY (forthcoming, Vine Leaves Press)—and an autobiographical children’s book, THE MAGIC TICKET (Fulcrum Books, 2024), all based on the story structure that is the focus of this workshop. (THE MAGIC TICKET is based on David’s experience as a child, when he lost his little sister and found a sanctuary for his grief in his local public library.) An experienced developmental editor, David has helped over sixty writers to be published for the first time.

Learning objectives:
After attending this presentation, participants will be able to:
1. Write works of fiction or nonfiction about a loss they have suffered as a way to process grief, expressing the experience as a story using the “Once upon a time . . . . Then, one day . . .” formula.
2. Apply what they have learned in order to run their own such workshop.