The Secret Sauce: Writing Structure & Notecards for Memoirists and Nonfiction Writers — 5-Week Online Memoir Workshop with Mimi Hayes Starts Monday, March 1st, 2027
Secret Sauce Memoir Workshop: Find Your Structure | Mar 2027 Online
The Secret Sauce Writing Workshop: Writing Structure & Notecards for Memoirists and Nonfiction Writers with Mimi Hayes
Begins Monday, March 1, 2027
Class will meet weekly via Zoom on Mondays, 7:00 PM – 9:00 PM ET
Five sessions: March 1, 8, 15, 22, and 29
🌍 Class Times by Time Zone:
- Los Angeles (PST/PDT): 4:00 PM – 6:00 PM Monday
- Denver (MST/MDT): 5:00 PM – 7:00 PM Monday
- Chicago (CST/CDT): 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM Monday
- New York (EST/EDT): 7:00 PM – 9:00 PM Monday
Now Enrolling!
Any questions about this class? Use the Chat Button to talk with us.
Instructor Mimi Hayes is an author, comedian, writing coach, and educator who has spent more than a decade helping writers find their voice and tell better stories. She is the author of I’ll Be OK, It’s Just a Hole in My Head, a memoir she wrote while recovering from a brain injury at age twenty-two. A former high school history teacher and writing-center tutor, Mimi has led writing workshops for community colleges, senior centers, arts organizations, nonprofits, and disability communities across the country. Through her work as a writing coach and editor, she helps writers move past perfectionism, get out of their own heads, and turn their ideas into compelling stories.
Mimi’s own writing has taken her from the page to the stage. She has performed at TEDx, The Moth, Denver Comedy Works, Broadway Comedy Club, Stand Up NY, Dangerfield’s, PDA Space, and Upright Citizens Brigade, and has opened for Jim Gaffigan. Her one-woman storytelling shows, I’ll Be OK and 20-Nothing, have toured the Edinburgh and Denver Fringe Festivals. Her TEDx talk, “Laughter is NOT the Best Medicine”, has reached audiences around the world, and her viral TikToks have amassed millions of views. Whether she’s teaching memoir, storytelling, or the craft of writing, Mimi brings humor, honesty, and a deep belief that every writer has a story worth telling.
Who is this class for?
This online memoir writing workshop is for memoirists and nonfiction writers at all levels, whether you’re just getting started on a book or knee-deep in a manuscript with no discernible direction. It’s especially suited to “pantsers,” writers who draft without a road map and now need to find the shape of what they’ve written.
What to expect:
If you’re anything like me, you fly through life by the seat of your pants. Turns out that applies to my writing style, too. And there’s a name for it in the writing biz: “Pantsers.”
The true nature of a “Pantser” is to be an agent of chaos: to write with no road map and to go where the pen/keyboard takes us. Sound familiar?
OK, so what happens when you pants yourself out and you’re so far down the road you don’t actually know where you are and you can’t even find your pants??? In this class, I will help you find the true structure and path for your book, whether you’re knee-deep in editing a manuscript with no discernible direction or just getting started and feeling anxious about the road ahead.
Over five weekly Zoom sessions, this nonfiction writing workshop moves from diagnosis to a working map of your book. You’ll learn to use notecards and plotting tools to see your book whole, identify the overarching themes that connect your chapters, and find the missing pieces. Sessions are live and interactive, with plenty of writing, reading, and talking, and the course closes with a small workshop and individual critiques. Bring a page or so of a scene to work with in class.
What are the writing goals?
In this course, students will map their memoir or nonfiction book using notecards, producing a chapter-by-chapter roadmap that connects individual chapters through overarching themes and identifies what’s still missing. Students will also bring a page-length scene to a small in-class workshop for feedback, with individual critiques in the final week.
Readings
Readings may include excerpts from Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear by Elizabeth Gilbert.
COURSE OUTLINE
Week 1: Pantsers vs. Planners (discovering where you are in the writing journey)
Week 2: How to use notecards and plotting tools
Week 3: Overarching themes and missing pieces
Week 4: Map your memoir with notecards
Week 5: Feedback and individual critiques
COURSE TAKEAWAYS:
- How to focus individual chapters and connect chapters through themes
- Using notecards to outline the work and find the missing pieces
- A roadmap of your memoir, built with notecards
TESTIMONIALS:
“Mimi knows how to create a comfortable and fun space for you to pursue your writing goals. She is not only skilled at taking you through the editing process but cheers you on the entire time with her positive energy and encouraging words. I highly recommend you add her to your creative arsenal for your next writing project!”
— Lisa G.
“Mimi effectively combines her multiple and unique talents (teaching, writing, comedy, survivor of life’s curveballs) to help you gather incomplete ramblings and turn them into cohesive, compelling stories. She uses surgical precision to extract the stories you didn’t even know you had inside of you- all without the actual pain and unsightly scarring of surgery. Best of all, she subtly reminds you that being a writer is a gift and can be enjoyable and rewarding.”
— Julie L.
“I am a Brazilian journalist living in NY. As a communications professional one of the biggest challenges I faced when I moved to the US was the language barrier. All of a sudden what was natural for me—writing emails, letters, articles—became an impossible task. I became very aware of my grammar limitations and my fear of rejection stopped me from trying. For many years I avoided working in anything that would rely on my writing and would always find someone to do the job for me. As a very creative mind, I felt choked. There were so many ideas flowing through my mind and I just couldn’t write them down. That’s when I found Mimi and started weekly writing classes. I cannot thank Mimi enough for helping me to find my voice again. Today I write a blog, manage 3 social media channels, and am in the process of writing 2 books. Writing is no longer a challenge for me, but an exciting way to express myself and share my stories.”
— Ilana L.
“Mimi is the bee’s knees to work with on writing projects! She offers an excellent balance of laid-back and open-minded sessions with consistent assignments for progress and suggestions for growth. I would highly recommend connecting with her!! She’ll bring out the story in you!”
— Ashley V.
PAYMENT OPTIONS:
Tuition is $395 USD. You can pay in full or use Shop Pay or Affirm to pay over time with equal Monthly Payments. Both options are available at checkout.
ONLINE COURSE STRUCTURE:
- Instructor: Mimi Hayes
- Begins Monday, March 1, 2027
- Class will meet weekly via Zoom on Mondays, 7:00 PM – 9:00 PM ET
- Tuition is $395 USD.