live VIRTUAL Workshop
Entering the Story
A daylong immersive memoir workshop
Stories often begin on the surface. We remember what happened. But the deeper story lives beneath the facts, in the emotional truth that gives shape and meaning to your lived experience.
This daylong immersive workshop is designed to help you enter your story.
Here, the story underneath the story begins to emerge.
Entering the Story
Write to discover what you know
Saturday, July 25, 2026
9am-2pm PT | 12-5pm ET
Live on Zoom
Replay available for registered participants
registration is closed
The Experience
In this one-day immersive workshop, you will explore the raw material of your life — the fragmented, disjointed memories and life-changing events — and begin shaping them into story.
It is an intimate writing experience that invites you to meet yourself on the page.
We will move through a sequence of guided prompts and craft insights, each building upon one another, allowing you to enter more fully into a moment and see what reveals itself when you follow the thread of your curiosity.
Although we are gathering virtually, you will not be writing alone. You will be working in the presence of others engaged in the same act of attention and discovery — each person entering their own story.
Throughout the day, you’ll explore:
- the moments your memory keeps returning to
- what lives beneath the story you’ve been telling
- how image unlocks memory and scene
- the people in your life as fully dimensional characters
- questions of truth, privacy, and ethics in memoir
- the deeper questions your story is asking
- how to care for yourself while writing the hard parts
Memoirists are meaning makers. As we write, we begin to discover what lingers, what matters, and what wants to be understood. The ripple effects often extend well beyond the page.
This workshop creates the space to do that work.
For Those Looking for Feedback
In addition to the workshop, I am offering a limited number of private editorial feedback sessions for writers who would like more individualized engagement.
If you’re looking for thoughtful, craft-focused feedback on a piece of writing you’re developing, this session offers an opportunity to explore what’s working, what’s emerging, and where the material may want to go next.
You may submit up to 5,000 words, generated during the workshop or drawn from an existing draft. I will read your work in advance, and we will meet for a 45-minute one-on-one session to discuss:
Emotional truth
Story architecture
Character and point of view
Where the writing feels most alive
Where it may want to deepen
These sessions are available exclusively to workshop participants, and space is limited.
Add 1:1 Editorial Feedback: +$450
Optional upgrade during workshop checkout.
Limited availability.
registration is closed
What people are saying…
“Karin creates a fertile environment for writing. I came to the workshop knowing that I had a story to tell, but with a lot of resistance to the act of writing. Karin guides writers gently and intuitively. She uses writing prompts to help you pop open ideas you didn’t know were there. It was so exciting when my writing really started to flow!
— Ranjani Brow“Having a safe writing space was critical in my development as a writer. The structure, prompts, and valuable guidance made me feel more at ease as I developed my writing skills. You helped me find my voice.”
— Wendy Adamson“You are able to reach through the weeds of a cobbled-together story and pinpoint the true intention of the writer. The questions you pose demand that she pull from her own experience and expression. You promote an atmosphere of respect… there’s no judging.”
— Meredith BaxterABOUT THE INSTRUCTOR:
KARIN GUTMAN, MFA, is a memoir and story coach who has been guiding writers for over 20 years toward discovering and writing their true, life stories. The safe, dynamic spaces she creates allow for this deeply personal work to unfold, as writers peel back the layers and make meaning of their lived experience. Her clients have sold books to major publishers and small presses, including HarperCollins, Simon & Schuster, and Macmillan. Whether writers are just beginning or preparing a manuscript for publication, Karin helps them discover the deeper story that wants to be told.
FAQs
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This workshop is for anyone interested in writing about their personal, life-based experiences and engaging more deeply with the craft of memoir.
It welcomes those new to the genre who are looking for a supportive space in which to explore, as well as more experienced writers of personal narrative seeking an immersive opportunity to reconnect with the page or deepen into the heart of their story.
You may be writing for yourself, as a legacy for your family, or with an eye toward sharing your story more widely.
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No. Memoir is the great leveler. We all arrive with lived experience — that is the raw material. Our shared intention is to uncover the underlying truth within it. What matters most is your willingness to explore with curiosity.
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No. Sharing is always optional. Much of our engagement will happen in the chat, and verbal sharing is never required.
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While live attendance is encouraged, a replay will be available to all registered participants.
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No preparation is necessary. Simply arrive with a pen and journal (or computer) and an openness to what may surface.
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After registering for Entering the Story, you’ll be given the option to add a private editorial feedback session to your order. This offering is available exclusively to workshop participants and is not sold separately.
Entering the Story
Saturday, July 25
Workshop: $300
Optional 1:1 Coaching Upgrade: +$450
Workshop + Coaching: $750 total
registration is closed
REFUNDS | TERMS & PRIVACY
© 2026 Spirit of Story, Inc.