Begins Wednesday, October 22, 2025

We will meet bi-monthly (2x each month), once with the whole class of eight, and a second monthly meeting dedicated to a smaller group workshop. Meetings will take place on the first and third Wednesdays of each month, from 6 to 8pm ET.

Any questions about this class? Use the Chat Button (lower left) to talk with us.

Taught by Victoria Costello, an Emmy Award-winning writer, teacher, and the author of six published non-fiction books, including her memoir, A Lethal Inheritance. Her debut novel of autobiographical fiction, Orchid Child (June 2023). Read more about Victoria's approach to writing trauma-informed autofiction at her website, STORIES THAT HEAL.

A 12-week course for intermediate and advanced writers: transform your raw life experiences into a masterful work of autofiction that captivates readers while honoring your truth.

What You'll Achieve in 12 Weeks

By the end of this intensive workshop, you'll have:

A Crystal-Clear Protagonist: You'll move beyond writing "yourself" to crafting a compelling fictional character based on your experiences, one with distinct motivations, flaws, and a unique voice that draws readers in from page one.

A Plot That Drives Forward: Your story will no longer meander through memories. Instead, you'll have a tightly constructed narrative with rising tension, meaningful complications, and a satisfying resolution that feels both inevitable and surprising.

Mastery of the Autofiction Balance: You'll confidently navigate the delicate line between truth and fiction, knowing exactly when to stick to facts and when to invent details that serve your story's deeper emotional truth.

A Complete Story Arc: Your protagonist will face a problem that truly matters, struggle with both surface desires and deeper needs, and emerge transformed, taking your readers on an unforgettable journey.

Professional-Level Craft Skills: You'll command advanced narrative techniques that elevate your writing from personal testimony to universal storytelling that resonates with any reader.

Who This Workshop Transforms

This intensive 12-week program is designed for writers who are ready to take their personal stories to the next level. You're perfect for this workshop if you have 5-10 pages of a work in progress featuring a protagonist based on yourself, facing a significant problem or life-changing event.

Whether you're a memoirist wanting to explore fiction techniques or a fiction writer drawing from personal experience, you'll learn to craft stories that transcend the personal to become universally compelling.

Your Expert Guide

Victoria Costello brings Emmy Award-winning storytelling expertise and six published books to guide your transformation. Her debut autofiction novel Orchid Child and memoir A Lethal Inheritance demonstrate her mastery of trauma-informed storytelling that heals both writer and reader.

The Workshop Experience

Intimate Learning Environment: Limited to just eight writers for personalized attention and meaningful feedback

Bi-Monthly Structure: Two meetings per month—full group sessions and smaller workshop groups—ensuring both community learning and individual focus

Flexible Scheduling: First and third Wednesdays, 6-8pm ET, designed for working writers

No Intimidating Applications: Start immediately with your existing pages—no lengthy application process required

Your Story Deserves to Be Told Powerfully

Stop struggling with memories that feel too important to fictionalize and too complex for straight memoir. In 12 weeks, you'll have the skills and confidence to tell your story in a way that honors your experience while creating art that moves others.

Ready to transform your personal story into compelling fiction?

COURSE OUTLINE:

The whole group of eight writers attends the monthly lectures and discussions. Workshops consist of four writers each, with these subgroups meeting once a month to give and receive feedback on class exercises and chapters from their works-in-progress.

You can read the full course syllabus here.

OCTOBER 2025

October 22nd: WELCOME  Introductions, Schedule, Workshop Process. 

Lecture 1: Three Essential Steps to Nail Your Protagonist in Chapter One

Exercise for Workshop

Workshops A (10/29) & B  (11/5): Writers give and receive feedback on first chapters and workshop exercise responses.

"Thank you so much for your encouragement and excellent suggestions and revisions, Victoria!"  —Diane G.    

“Thank you, Victoria. You have given me the encouragement I needed to feel like this is a worthwhile project.” —Pat S. 

“Victoria is dedicated to instructing her students. She offered honest, valuable feedback along with a personal touch. Her insight and sense of humor made the group comfortable and rewarding. I appreciate the encouragement she gave me and others throughout the course.”  —Paul B.

“I had a really monumental class experience. I walked away with a solid start to a first chapter, and, for the first time, concrete ideas on how to plod forward.” —Sonya C. 

“I got so much out of the class. It was informative and so much fun! It really infused some life back into me, which was the hope." —Alison L.

I had no idea what to expect from this class and was very pleasantly surprised when it felt like the right fit. The depth of the classes and the feedback from the classmates and your critique was insightful and helpful. Thank you for giving me a pleasing experience on my journey of writing. —Jonette S.    

Thank you so much, Victoria! Your notes have been of great help to me. I also thank you for your warm words at the end. It was a pleasure for me too to be in this class. —Anca P.  

Thank-you for all that you have shared. I have learned a lot and appreciate your time and mentoring. — Cynthia S.

As the author of an autobiographical novel in process, I've been greatly helped by Victoria's teaching on questions like how to portray living people, how to maintain dramatic tension, and who this story belongs to. She is a perceptive reader whose taste encompasses literary fiction and more popular work. As an instructor, she provides specific constructive suggestions on framing and word choice as well as pacing. She develops an esprit de corps within the class and encourages supportive yet discerning feedback on one another's work.  —Diane Crothers, Brooklyn, New York

Our lives hold stories waiting to be told, and Victoria is helping me tell mine. She brings her professional experience as a memoirist and novelist and empathy born of her own life’s experiences to her teaching. With an eye for innovative details and suggestions for new approaches to bring a character to life, Victoria skillfully guides her students through the storytelling process, whether they be seasoned writers or newcomers to the craft. —Deborah Rothschild, Talent, Oregon 

Victoria obviously knows her stuff! I found that the space she created in our class, and her guidance, to be supportive, insightful, and very helpful. As an author of memoir trying out new material, the class was invaluable. —Donna M. Thomas, Ashland, Oregon

“It is not easy to take complex ideas and competing theories about form and create clarity from them, but Victoria Costello has managed to do just that in her course on autofiction. My writing has benefited greatly from her capacity for synthesis, her generous spirit of feedback and sharing of resources, and her belief in the possibility of the work. What a fabulous course!” -Patti Digh, author of Life is a Verb and seven other books.

“As a memoirist, this introduction to autofiction inspired me to fictionalize pieces of my book that I had been struggling with writing. I had such a great time learning new techniques that Victoria taught in addition to reviewing some foundations of writing a full length novel. Victoria helped me turn an idea into a well thought out book in an interactive and inspiring way. I highly recommend this course, no matter where you are on your writing journey.” -Holly Whiteknight, naturopathic physician and memorist

“I would recommend this class for anyone who wants to bring a memoir to life by turning it into auto-fiction. Victoria is skilled at seeing the possibilities because she has personal experience of turning a memoir into auto-fiction.” -Kanu Kogod, diversity consultant.

• This class starts on Wednesday, October 22, 2025, and concludes on February 17, 2026. (Including two weeks off between Dec 17-Jan 7).
• We will meet bi-monthly (2x each month), once with the whole class of eight, and a second monthly meeting dedicated to a smaller group workshop. Meetings will take place on the first and third Wednesdays of each month, from 6 to 8pm ET.
• This online class will be taught via Zoom and is limited to 8 students.
• Tuition is $1,200 USD. 

If you have questions, please us the Chat Button or contact us via email HERE.