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Spring into your story

A live, 4-week intro to telling your story by Rachel Trotter

Autobiography. Family history stories.  Memoir.

Sorry...enrollment for this class has closed!
If you are still interested, please sign up to be notified if spots open.  

Submit a question or get on the list through our contact form. 

4 Live Zoom Classes
includes exercises + Q & A

Sorry...enrollment for this class has closed!
If you are still interested, please sign up to be notified if spots open.  

Submit a question or get on the list through our contact form. 

Course Pricing

  • Each class includes Q & A
  • Start & finish your story with confidence
  • Fun format with exercises & templates
  • Bonus course! Self-paced, on-demand
  • Learn to interview loved ones
  • This is a $49 class on its own
  • Catch replays if you miss a session
  • Full course available for a year 
  • Course player has added resources 

Do you have a question or want to get on the wait list?

Submit a question or get on the list through our contact form and we will personally respond to you.

Course Summary

You have a story to tell, and this class will give you practice, confidence, and tools to get it done in 2025. This live class (with replays) will be taught in a challenge format spanning 4 weeks. By the end, you will have written and edited a personal story (your own, an ancestor's, or another loved one's). You will receive question prompts to guide your selection of a great vignette to write, and then you will learn the most important moments that make any true story compelling. You will come to see this pattern in true stories so you can follow the blueprint in the future.

Class will include heaps of encouragement for beginning writers and those with more experience who may be ready to kick off a life story project or book. Regardless of where you are in your writing journey, this class will get you off and running. Your words matter - don't let yourself get stuck in overwhelm, procrastination, or perfectionism. This course is the antidote. You can tell your story, and you should.

Overview of what you will accomplish in class:

- You will start, continue and finish a short story.
- You will map out your story so it hits compelling emotional notes, and so it will inspire readers.
-  You will make important decisions for your story like the right point of view, tense, and how to use dialogue. Not sure what all this means? Don't worry, we'll simplify it so you know what to do and why. Trust us, the lightbulb will go on as we work through exercises.
- You will edit your story so you feel excited about the finished product.
- Not only will you FINISH one story, but you'll see how to repeat this process again and again. This is how you can finish a full book or a series of short stories, if those are your goals.  



How the class works...

Dates for live Zoom classes in May

May 7, 2025
May 14, 2025
May 21, 2025
May 28, 2025
Replays will be available for all sessions

Time

5:00 to 6:30 PM Mountain Time - reference Salt Lake City

(That's 7 Eastern, 6 Central, 4 Pacific, and 10 AM the following day if, say, you're in Brisbane, Australia.) 

What's included

The interactive workshop will be taught via Zoom, with replays. Classes will include in-class exercises, live Q&A, a Facebook group, printable worksheets, and a packaged mailer! Instructors are  professional writers, Rhonda Lauritzen & Rachel Trotter. 

Meet your instructor

Rachel Trotter

Rachel J. Trotter is a senior writer/editor at Evalogue.Life – Tell Your Story. She tells people’s stories and shares hers to encourage others. She loves family storytelling. A graduate of Weber State University, she has had articles featured on LDSLiving.com, lds.org, FamilySearch.org and Meridian Magazine. She has been a speaker at RootsTech, Weber State University Family History Conference, Conference on Family History at BYU and the Southern California Genealogy Jamboree. She helps people tell and write their life stories and has written six life stories with several more in production. She has also helped several others write their own stories. She and her husband Mat have six children and she recently became a grandma! She and her family live on the East Bench in Ogden, Utah.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

This is a live, 4-week class taught from 5 - 6:30 PM Mountain time (Salt Lake City) each Thursday in May, 2025. Taught via Zoom.

May 7
May 14
May 21
May 28

Yes! this is an interactive class with live instruction and a Q&A/discussion period in every session. There will be replays, a workbook, and online bonus materials if you must miss any classes.

You will receive a Zoom link and access to the online support materials upon enrollment. 

You will learn how to to start, continue or even finish your life story and leave with a completed writing project. The series will be live, virtual, and engaging. There is an opportunity for Q&A in each session. You will receive a workbook and other printable materials as well as replays and exercises to practice. 

It is great if you have already done some writing, but all skill levels will feel welcome here. Everyone will learn and can benefit from the structure to complete a story in class. 

Yes, the course materials follow the same format as the January Jumpstart. This series will be taught by Rachel Trotter. 

Do you have a question?

Submit a question through our contact form and we will personally respond to you.

What Students Say About our Live Classes

"Class started on time. Ended on time. Excellent, useful information shared expeditiously. I loved that both Rachel and Rhonda shared personal examples to make their points, that helped clarify concepts, and it made me feel connected. 😁 Storyboarding concept helped me visualize that the whole book, and even the chapters should have specific elements in a specific order to create a pleasing, satisfying story. There should be a rise and fall of action, conflict, interesting word choices and varying sentence lengths. The storyboarding formula made so much sense in helping me understand the steps and elements I need to focus on to create a well rounded story.”
Dawn, Canada 
"Using what you taught us, I posted photos and short stories about my husband who died thirty years ago. I transferred his voice from cassette to flash drive. I uploaded his voice to FamilySearch. I am amazed at the reticent relatives and friends that appreciate these stories! The process showed me all I've lived through already. I can do this, too. Thank you"
Chris, U.S.A.
"Taking that first step into family story telling, even just dangling your toes over the edge is so so so hard! I wanted to compile histories before the story tellers are gone and their histories lost but just didn’t know where to begin and didn’t want to do it wrong. The tips and tricks I am learning give me confidence to leap. If you aren’t quite ready to start but know you will someday, or if you do this all the time and are looking for ways to better utilize your time and/or improve and develop your process, I think you will find some really useful information here. You won’t regret this!”
Tammy, U.S.A.
"All of the classes were very powerful, informative, and contained a storehouse of valuable information. A wealth of knowledge was shared that will have a big impact on how I write my story. I especially enjoyed gathering with people who share the same interests. I could feel the energy of the instructors as well as the participants. This gave me the spark, excitement, and confidence to move forward with my project. I think the biggest breakthrough for me was... I am enough. After all, I am the expert on my life! My style of writing won’t be professional, but it will be me. I can fashion my memories into fun and heartfelt stories that will hopefully have an impact on myself as well as those I am writing it for."
JaNell P Lyman, Utah USA 
“I love everything about this wonderful class, but one of my favorite parts is the Hero Exercise. It made the elements of my memoir fall into place as a true life adventure, with conflict, love  interest and especially change. I finally feel encouraged and equipped to complete the memoir that I started with my Mom decades ago... Any questions that came up in my mind were answered during the classes. The classes are excellent. Just Do More!”
Julie E. San Diego, California, USA
“You and Rachel make a great team and give balance to the presentation! I really appreciated the whole class. My favorite part was the free writing exercise. I enjoyed the slides as I am a visual learner, so the key points were very inspiring. I really enjoyed reviewing the items available in the course player - it's a special treat for later. I have always given myself permission to write. It's a very strong feeling but you have given me an action plan -- a model to create a vignette to my family history story...And I can include it with the rest of my family history story - photos, bio sketch, census history, family trees, etc. This class was a big win for me!”
Renee B., Chicago, IL, USA
"I  finally got a 'hook' for a family history book project I've had on my back burner for years, and have moved forward with it! I loved the length of the sessions and how they were broken up. Inspirational, practical, and actual writing. Time of day was good for me."
Kerry, U.S.A. 
“I thoroughly enjoyed the 'Life Story' class. The storyboard was marvelous and extremely helpful.”
Bryan, U.S.A.
“I had a terrific time in your class. It has provided a necessary means of accountability. I felt inclined to write some life stories but just wasn't applying the chair glue to do it.”
Valarie, U.S.A.
“I don't have a favorite part -- every week I learned something new and I've been really inspired every class. This course really opened my eyes to the bigger picture of writing -- literally. I'm not just writing facts and dates; I need to bring the reader into my memories with sights, sounds, and smells too.”
Tami M, Charlotte N.C., U.S.A.
"Just wanted to say thanks to Rhonda and Rachel for the great crash course in personal life writing. They're hitting every essential point and it's a joy to follow their presentations. And I need to thank a dear friend for extending this opportunity to me to be in this class. Thanks! "
Colleen, U.S.A.
"I enjoyed every Thursday evening and the personalities of the two of you. You got me thinking again. The ideas for interviewing are most helpful."
Anonymous
"I really enjoyed your class and feel like I was set to go on a journey. I have to confess that I was not sold on the storyboard idea at the beginning of the class, but as I have studied it and learned a bit more, I can see and recognize it not only in books and movies but in real life. Very interesting!"
Santiago, U.S.A. 
"The linking of the various components presented with the very well presented "how to" information gave more confidence that I can move forward in creating my ancestor story. Using the storyboarding/timeline tips with the photos I collected, I was able to use the writing time to develop a much more compelling story."
Chris, U.S.A.
“Thank you for teaching this class. It is making my life better and giving me the encouragement I need to finish my book.”
Christina, U.S.A.
"Information was clearly presented; now it’s a matter of application and crafting my ancestor story. I started writing!"
Kitty, U.S.A.
"Both Rachel and Rhonda have really thought through all aspects of presenting, teaching, coaching, homework, workbooks, etc."
Tanya, U.S.A.
"It opened my mind to possibilities and gave me encouragement to keep going."
Janese, U.S.A.
"I very much appreciated this class. It did orient me to a general understanding for the process of writing a short story or a fat book. I now see that one can learn and develop the skills needed to finish a project sucessfully. More people should know that writers can be self-made."
Jeri, U.S.A. 
"Thank you, you helped me realize I am the hero in my own story." 
Kelly, U.S.A.
"I finished your course this morning!!! It was SO WONDERFUL! The course AND the feeling of finishing. My review is a glowing one and well deserved."
Nancy, U.S.A.

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