As writers, we shape stories — but the stories we tell ourselves often shape us in return. This cross-genre lecture invites participants to examine the narrative structures that influence both our creative work and lived experience. We’ll consider how personal and cultural narratives inform voice, form, and content — and how revising these inherited frameworks can open new imaginative possibilities. Through writing exercises and the discussion of examples from literary works, participants will deepen their sense of narrative agency and explore how language can unsettle, reframe, and remake. This is a space for writers to interrogate the stories that confine and discover those that compel.

Andrea Wilson holds a master’s in Creative Writing from Cornell College and a master’s in Narrative Therapy from the University of Melbourne. She is the founder of the Iowa Writers’ House and editor of We the Interwoven: An Anthology of Bicultural Iowa. Her work bridges storytelling, identity, and healing, focusing on how narrative shapes consciousness. Currently, she is researching the intersection of mental health and creative writing at the University of Iowa. Andrea’s passion lies in helping writers use their craft not only to refine their voices but also to catalyze personal growth, awareness, and transformative story-making.