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Alumni Spotlight: From Corporate Nomad to Published Author - Richard Avery's Journey Through Autofiction
by Writing Workshops Staff
3 months ago
After thirty years of traveling the world on business, Richard Avery made a life-changing decision: he abandoned his nomadic existence for a quiet life in rural Sussex, dedicating himself to teaching, hypnotherapy, and writing. That transformation has culminated in the publication of Alternate Lives: a collection of auto-fiction short stories on February 28, 2025—a deeply personal exploration of life's "what ifs" that emerged from his intensive work in our Advanced Autofiction Workshop with Victoria Costello.
Exploring the "What Might Have Beens"
Alternate Lives represents a fascinating approach to autobiographical fiction, using the genre's unique ability to blend memory with imagination. As Richard describes it, the collection explores "the 'if only's' and 'what might have been's'" of his life through eighteen everyday experiences and dreams.
The premise is both relatable and profound: "Sometimes and without warning we return to our past. Not fleeting remembrances, but something much deeper, re-living every embarrassing moment, the sounds, the smells, the love and the pain. Supposing you could take those experiences, and allow your imagination, to run wild and free."
Richard's stories range from complete flights of fancy—"no he never was Santa, but wanted to be"—to deeply grounded experiences that many readers will recognize. One particularly intriguing element: among the eighteen stories, one is completely true, albeit incomplete. "Which one, well that is for him to know and for you to guess."
The Perfect Workshop for Autobiographical Fiction
Richard's participation in our Advanced Autofiction Workshop with Victoria Costello proved instrumental in shaping Alternate Lives. Victoria Costello, an Emmy Award-winning writer and author of six published non-fiction books, including her memoir A Lethal Inheritance and her debut autofiction novel Orchid Child, brings unique expertise to the intersection of memory and imagination.
The 12-month intensive workshop format provided exactly what a project like Alternate Lives required: sustained attention to the delicate balance between truth and fiction that defines the autofiction genre. Victoria's approach, described as "trauma-informed autofiction," emphasizes creating protagonists who are "you but not you"—a technique perfectly suited to Richard's exploration of alternate versions of his life experiences.
From Memory to Imagination
What makes autofiction particularly compelling—and challenging—is its ability to reimagine lived experience. Richard's collection demonstrates this beautifully, taking mundane moments and asking profound questions: "What would it actually feel like to be Shakespeare on a bad day. What would have happened, had the teenage you, spoken to that girl instead of standing there tongue-tied and awkward."
This approach transforms ordinary experiences into rich narrative territory. The workshop's focus on "adapting the traditional three-act story structure for a trauma-centered, narrative beats" likely helped Richard shape these explorations into compelling short fiction rather than simple memoir vignettes.
Mid-Course Transformation
Richard's experience demonstrates the workshop's power to transform work in progress. "I was part way through my book when I joined the course," he explains. "It helped me to create a much more engaging set of stories and begin my journey to a new novel based loosely on my life."
This mid-course intervention proved crucial. Rather than simply completing a project he'd already begun, the workshop helped Richard reimagine and revitalize his work, creating stories that were significantly more compelling than his original drafts.
Learning to Express Trauma Through Fiction
The most valuable skill Richard gained was learning "how to bring reality to autofiction by expressing trauma." This represents one of autofiction's most delicate challenges—transforming difficult personal experiences into narrative that serves both artistic and healing purposes.
Victoria Costello's trauma-informed approach to autofiction provided Richard with tools to navigate this complex territory safely and effectively. The workshop's emphasis on creating protagonists who are "you but not you" likely proved essential for this process, allowing Richard to explore difficult material while maintaining necessary psychological distance.
The Power of Community
What Richard enjoyed most about his workshop experience was the "interaction with other students." This highlights a crucial aspect of Victoria Costello's approach—creating a supportive community where writers can safely explore vulnerable material together.
The workshop format provides something essential for autofiction writers: understanding peers who recognize the unique challenges of transforming personal experience into art. This community aspect becomes particularly important when working with trauma-informed material, where isolation can compound the difficulty of the work.
A Life Transformed
Richard's journey from corporate traveler to rural Sussex writer represents its own kind of alternate life—one where creativity takes precedence over commerce. "After wasting thirty years travelling the world on business, Richard Avery abandoned his nomadic existence for a settled life in rural Sussex, England. Richard now devotes his waking hours to the altogether more fruitful activities of teaching, hypnotherapy and writing. He holds an MA in creative writing and has completed two books."
His current pursuits—teaching, hypnotherapy, and writing—all involve helping others explore their inner landscapes, skills that undoubtedly inform his approach to autobiographical fiction. The hypnotherapy background, in particular, likely provides insight into how memory operates and how conscious and unconscious experiences can be accessed and reimagined.
The Workshop Experience
Victoria Costello's Advanced Autofiction Workshop combines several essential elements for developing autobiographical fiction:
- Mini-lectures addressing genre-specific challenges like creating protagonists based on yourself
- Group role play and guided visualization to mine character and thematic insights
- Regular workshopping with verbal feedback on works-in-progress
- Five one-on-one manuscript consultations for individual progress review
- Written and verbal review of final drafts
This comprehensive approach clearly served Richard well, providing both the technical tools and supportive community necessary for transforming personal experience into compelling fiction.
The Power of Everyday Stories
What makes Alternate Lives particularly appealing is Richard's explicit rejection of grand narratives: "There are no earth-shattering events or making of history. He was never there when those things happened." Instead, he focuses on the moments that actually comprise most of our lives—the small encounters, missed opportunities, and daily experiences that shape who we become.
This approach demonstrates autofiction's unique strength: its ability to find profound meaning in ordinary experience. By imagining how small moments might have unfolded differently, Richard creates space for readers to consider their own alternate possibilities.
The Art of Autobiographical Fiction
Richard's success with Alternate Lives exemplifies what Victoria Costello's workshop teaches: how to balance personal truth with narrative invention. The collection's structure—mixing complete fantasy with grounded truth, while keeping one story entirely factual—creates an engaging puzzle for readers while protecting the author's privacy.
This balance is one of autofiction's most challenging aspects, requiring writers to navigate questions of consent, accuracy, and artistic license. The workshop's emphasis on creating protagonists who are "you but not you" provides a framework for this complex negotiation.
Celebration of Creative Courage
Alternate Lives represents more than just a successful publication—it's evidence of creative courage. Richard's willingness to excavate his past experiences and reimagine them through fiction demonstrates the kind of vulnerability that the best autobiographical writing requires.
His collection joins a rich tradition of autofiction that includes writers like Karl Ove Knausgård, Rachel Cusk, and Sheila Heti—authors who have found ways to transform personal experience into art that resonates beyond the merely confessional.
As readers encounter Richard's eighteen explorations of what might have been, they're invited to consider their own alternate lives, their own moments of possibility and regret. In this way, deeply personal writing becomes universally meaningful—the hallmark of successful autofiction.
Ready to explore your own life stories through fiction? Learn more about our Advanced Autofiction Workshop with Victoria Costello and discover how to transform memory into compelling narrative.
Congratulations to Richard Avery on the publication of Alternate Lives—a beautiful example of how autofiction can illuminate the paths not taken while celebrating the richness of lived experience.
