Frequently Asked Questions

The course is a combination of video and audio lessons, recommended readings, exercises, interviews and live events. You can access the course lessons whenever you like and move through them in your own time. The live events are always recorded so you never need to worry about missing anything.

Aside from our January cohort, which begins on a specific date, we open registration on a rolling basis, meaning that as some people finish the course, others are invited to begin. You can also choose to register and ‘pause’ your start date until the timing is right for you.

If you prefer to purchase the course but begin later, we now offer that option! Simply complete your registration and then write to support@alisonwearing.com to request that your course be ‘paused’ until you are ready to begin. (In addition to our cohorts, we open registration on a rolling basis throughout the year, meaning that as some people finish the course, others are invited to begin.)

Impossible! Once you register, you’ll have lifetime access (held for you as long as Memoir Writing Ink continues turning its pages!) to these materials and be free to go at your own pace well beyond our time together. The 12-week timeline refers to the weekly unveiling of chapters, and it is a suggested pace only. You are welcome to move through the materials and return to them whenever you wish, and to take as long as you like.

IteIt varies. Each chapter's videos, readings, texts and writing tasks might take 30-60 minutes to review, but everything is broken down into small pieces to give you the option of sitting down for 10-20 minutes at a time OR becoming inspired by an exercise that has you writing for an hour or more. It’s entirely up to you.m description

Yes! The Memoir Writing Ink course is divided into 4 steps. Each step contains 3 chapters, and one new chapter opens every week.

You can view the full course curriculum here.

The problem with trying to use AI to write memoir is that this isn’t just your story and the things that have happened to you, memoir is all about your VOICE. Your unique, irreplaceable, voice.

The voice of the narrator is what brings her to LIFE. It’s what reassures us that you’re being real with us. It’s what makes us trust you enough to read on.

Voice isn’t just an important element in memoir, it’s THE critical one.

And unless your voice is genuinely weirdly-empty-plastic, AI won’t be able to make the writing ‘sound like you,’no matter how much it tells you it can.

So, if you use AI to write for you, it’s actually siphoning the power from your memoir. But, as importantly, it’s also robbing you of agency and creative fulfillment.

I liken it to the difference between learning to play a particular piece of music on the piano and getting AI to make an audio file of someone like you playing that piece on the piano.

It’s ridiculous, of course, because the whole point of learning to play a piece of music is actually learning to play that piece of music. It’s the richness and challenge of that experience. It’s the inner architecture that develops when we engage in a creative act. It’s the way our minds and hearts expand, the way we feel when we’re doing it, and the way that feeling changes and enhances who we are.

The whole point of any creative endeavour is actually the inner process, the act and art of creating, not a hastily-produced product made by a machine. So while you might have a piece of writing, you’ve skipped right over the part where you’re enriched by the experience of creating it.

Writing your personal story, in your own time and in your own true voice, using your own heart as your compass, has the potential to be one of the most empowering and rewarding things you will ever do.

I would think twice about giving that away to AI, in any capacity.

Absolutely not! This course is actually designed with beloved Luddites in mind :), so if you can read this FAQ page, you can navigate the course.

We do everything we can to schedule the live sessions to accommodate people in different time zones (so that no matter where you are in the world, you will have the opportunity to attend at least one of the events live).

And, all the live sessions are recorded and made available for 30 days after the event, so you never need to worry about missing anything.

No. One of the interesting things about memoir is that people with all levels of writing experience tend to come up against the same series of questions, obstacles and issues – and the same answers, tools and perspectives can help everyone. You do not need to ‘be a writer’ to write your story. We become writers by writing.

It varies. Each weekly chapter will take 30-60 minutes to review, but everything is broken down into small pieces to give you the option of sitting down for 10-20 minutes at a time OR swallowing the entire chapter whole. From there, you may decide to write for a few minutes or be inspired to write for an hour or more. That part is entirely up to you.

One of the goals of this program is to teach you how to become your own best editor. This is an essential part of developing your voice and craft, and an often neglected aspect of the writing process. Every year during our January cohort, we also have an exceptionally beautiful, closely moderated space where students learn and follow strict guidelines for 'how to offer genuinely helpful feedback.' Many students also connect with a writing partner within the community. If you prefer to work with a professional, you will also have the option of submitting a short piece or excerpt of a longer work to one of our associate editors at extremely reasonable rates. Either way, opportunities for illuminating and inspiring feedback abound.

I am a great believer in miracles. Truly I am. And that is what you would need to write a book in 12 weeks. So, unless you are already sitting with a nearly completed manuscript (or you have a direct line to the Miracles Department of the universe), the answer is probably no. But this program WILL give you the essential tools, the perspective and understanding, the clarity, direction, guidance, support and the critical elements of the craft that you will need to write memoir well. And you will, over time, write a much better book because of it. :)

I am not taking on any new clients at the moment, as all of my time and creative energy is being poured into this course! If you would like to work together, or if you dream of doing a retreat in a gorgeous location, priority is given to people who have gone through this program, so this really is the best place to start.

I do offer small-group 6-week intensives at various times. You can learn more about that here.

I host live Q&As where I answer your specific questions (and anonymously, so you can truly ask me anything). We also have a dedicated team to help with tech issues, course questions and writing questions in general. Our students often write to us to thank us for such a responsive and compassionate support team. You’ll be looked after!

We offer the course on a sliding scale and also offer a limited number of scholarships, but the range is USD$297-$497. We also offer payment plans.