This class is for the conversations that still need to happen. We’ll talk about the barriers that keep us from writing what we need to write. We’ll also examine works by Chanel Miller, Jeannette Walls, and Layli Long Soldier to take lessons from the ways in which they make difficult topics easier to access. Students […]
read moreSending writing to literary journals can be an intimidating process. In this two-hour class, we'll take a step-by-step tour through the world of journal submissions. Learn directly from Samantha Steiner, MFA, who has served as an editor for Lumina Journal and Breadcrumbs Magazine and has had over 40 works of writing published including fiction, nonfiction, […]
read moreClarissa Pinkola Estes writes about el duende, “the goblin wind,” that can breathe the creative spark into fire. The goal of this creative writing class is to fan your ideas and inspirations into flame. We’ll use timed writing, dream journals, guided imagery, Active Imagination, and anything else we can think of to get in touch […]
read moreThis workshop is for students who have some experience writing poetry and are looking to dig deeper into their writing practice. In this poetry workshop, we'll read published poems (written by contemporary and historical poets), and we'll use this work to inspire our own creative writing work. We'll write poems, and we'll spend time discussing […]
read moreAre you looking for a creative way to process your childhood or recount memories? Look no further! This four-week class will dive into childhood/ early adulthood in the form of creative essays or short stories. We will include workshop time so students can receive feedback on their work as well as writing exercises to get […]
read moreExplore the dark self, what Carl Jung called the “shadow” part of our psyche. Sometimes we see it in our dreams, sometimes it appears in dark imaginings. We’ll learn what the shadow can add to our creative writing by experimenting with timed writing, dream journals, guided imagery and Active Imagination.
read moreThomas Larson writes that “memoir is most successful when it is not the ‘story of a life,’ but a focused part of that life—a dozen summers spent working on a grandfather’s farm, a long relationship with a dying relative, the first year of law school.” You’ll work with writing prompts and timed writing exercises, and […]
read moreExplore short story fiction writing by studying narrative craft elements like story, plot, character, scene, structure, archetypal patterns and dialogue. We’ll examine professionally published pieces and your own work. By the end of the course, you’ll be ready to begin a story based on a word or an idea. You’ll also understand how to evaluate […]
read moreRevision is experimentation and play. Through a series of games and prompts, we will generate new ideas for a story draft brought to class. We will assess those ideas and do some fast generating to explore possible outcomes.
read moreFor writers of fiction or nonfiction:Learn to pull the reader into your work by combining sensory and active description. Deepen your evocative sensory practice through progressive writing prompts that incorporate the five senses. Come prepared to write on the spot.
read moreFor writers of fiction or nonfiction! Each week, we will close-read a short story or essay and discuss the craft elements being used (for example: dialogue as story, braided structure, objective correlatives), and then use those elements in our own work. You will either write one longer piece, or several shorter works, your preference.
read moreWhether you're currently working on a fiction project or trying to get inspiration, this generative workshop will serve as a gentle and fun way to push yourself creatively. Through prompts, readings, and supportive discussion, group members will work towards realizing their visions. We will read out loud from our own work and also from interviews […]
read moreIn this generative workshop, students of multiple creative writing genres will explore nonlinear storytelling and learn how and when to effectively use this more experimental narrative style. Students will read and discuss short texts and media in class to explore storytelling using a nonlinear framework, including short films, poems, essays, and short fiction. These will […]
read moreIn this generative and interactive workshop, students of multiple creative writing genres will engage with and practice creating “retold tales”—or stories inspired by and derived from existing myths, fairy tales, literature, and other similar sources. These will potentially include, but not be limited to, selections from Emma Donoghue's Kissing the Witch (1997); the short story […]
read moreExplore the possibilities of the prose poem. Each week, we'll read and discuss examples of prose poems (historic and contemporary), then use these conversations to inspire us as we write prose poems of our own.
read moreDive deep into the realm of images to discover new possibilities for your poetry and prose. In this workshop, we'll tap into memory, imagination, description, observation, and discovery, through a number of playful, strange, and thought-provoking writing activities. These exercises will inspire new work and offer fresh ways of looking at your works in progress, […]
read moreA poetry workshop for queer-identified writers who want to write poems. We’ll explore writing poems from a queer orientation, read and discuss contemporary queer poets as a site of inspiration, joy, and expression, and write our own poems using queer identity as both a foundation and a means of queering genre. A desire to write […]
read moreIn this creative writing workshop, we will read from exciting and unusual poetic memoirists, read our own work out loud, and gently and compassionately workshop each other's writing. In doing this, we will explore the process of transforming our memories into works of art.
read moreMake a keepsake collection of family memories that have shaped your family as you define it today. This class is a great fit for anyone looking for an avenue into memoir writing. On our first day, we will look at family traditions and examine major events in our family histories. On our second day, we […]
read moreIf you love holiday movies or have a winter tradition to share, join us as we write winter-themed short stories (all holidays are welcome!). We’ll create story outlines, start at the end with closing scenes, then work backwards to opening scenes. Consider giving this class as a holiday gift to a budding writer in your […]
read moreFor centuries, poets have paid homage to anything and anyone they enjoy through the poetic style known as the ode. In a class ideal for this season of festivity, we will concentrate on our loved ones and their favorite things with the intention of composing a beloved ode just for them– or treat ourselves to […]
read moreIn this two and a half-hour workshop, author Rachel Beanland will lead participants through a series of readings, discussions, and exercises designed to explore narrative point-of-view. Plan to spend time analyzing first-, second- and third-person narratives, discussing the pros and cons of each, and determining what the best narrative approach is for you and your […]
read moreExplore short story fiction writing by studying narrative craft elements like story, plot, character, scene, structure, archetypal patterns and dialogue. We’ll examine professionally published pieces and your own work. By the end of the course, you’ll be ready to begin a story based on a word or an idea. You’ll also understand how to evaluate […]
read moreIn this 2-hour session, we’ll engage with one of the hottest new genres in writing: the super short form. We’ll tell stories that make us breathless, hopeful, and hungry. Many of us are familiar with the short story, but there’s a whole range of writings shorter than that. Take flash fiction, which is 500 words […]
read moreIn this 2-hour session, we’ll talk about how songs are built, including what make a chorus, a verse, and a bridge. We’ll look at popular songs as we write our own original lyrics. We’ll also talk about the intimidating questions of how to begin and end a song. As we delve deeper into the mechanics […]
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