A weekly life-writing class led by author Delores Nelson
WHEN: Tuesday afternoons, 1-3 PM
WHERE: State Capital Museum Coach House
211 West 21st Avenue
Olympia Washington 98501
(360) 753-2580
COST: cost is $6 per class or 5 classes for $24
- Discounts offered for more than one family member attending.
- Pre-registration NOT required.
- Washington State Historical Society members receive a 10% discount.
Beginning with a small but enthusiastic group of adults, the Memoir Writing Group at the State
Capital Museum has been meeting regularly for nearly two years. The group explores the past through
writing and assembling their memoirs. Lead by Delores Kelso Nelson, a writer and teacher in the
Olympia area for over 15 years, the memoir class serves participants by igniting lost memories,
supporting practicing memoir writers, and offering a chance to socialize. Nelson notes that some
group members say "Oh, I'm not a writer...I just thought I would give it a try," but
remain motivated by the questions of family members who want to know what grandmother or
grandfather has experienced personally. "Younger family members want to know what it was like
to grow up 'then,' and their loved ones will cherish whatever they write," states Nelson.
Nelson provides a writing exercise each week as a point of departure, and has lots of
expertise to offer in preparing and publishing personal manuscripts. The State Capital Museum
hosts the group on Tuesday afternoons, with more than a dozen men and women in attendance.
The Memoir Writing Group helps adults explore their lives through writing. For some, this is
the first time they have written anything, while others have complied extensive personal or
organizational memoirs. Most of the writers have little interest in getting published, they want a
first hand account of their lives to pass on to family members. "When memoir writers create
images of the world that was-they connect the past with the present and the future. They are
teaching," Nelson said. "You have to read their stories to learn their wisdom."