Join this fast-paced, lecture-style workshop, hosted by novelist Susan Beckham Zurenda, author of Bells for Eli, in the Writer’s Room. Be sure to visit Susan in the Signing Gallery (downstairs in Joseph-Beth Booksellers) to get books signed after this talk!

For our family stories to be effective, however, they must not only tell a tale but express the important values, blunders, wishes, hopes, disappointments, and triumphs common to all humanity. And to convey the truth of humanity, our characters must express real emotion. Writing honestly about family can be more challenging than recalling events accurately or finding the arc of our own story. How fair is it to put people into our books—names, warts, and all? Only the writer can answer the question of how much to whitewash stories, but if you can’t write honestly, your story will be wrong and it will be thin. We are all human and flawed. And we are moved and transformed by our humanity.

There are two ways to tune in to this free program on Saturday, November 6: join us live at Joseph-Beth Booksellers, or return to this page to watch the livestream starting at 11:30 a.m. Eastern. No registration is required. Seating at Joseph-Beth is first-come, first-served. Thanks to the Writer’s Room sponsor, UK HealthCare!

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