Current Class List

This class will focus on in-class generative writing. By using guided meditations, short readings, and writing prompts, we will together create a contemplative atmosphere where discovery-oriented writing can emerge. Words by Alice Walker, Alexander Chee, and Banana Yoshimoto, among others, will assist us along the way.

This class is dedicated to teaching you how to create a strong attention grabber, establish theme, and creatively set up your protagonist. You'll learn how to establish these critical elements and integrate them to create an amazing hook to your story. 

How do I, as an adult, craft an adolescent voice that carries the narrative of my story in a realistic and imaginable way? This class will discuss some of the issues involved in "going back in time" and how younger characters and narrators are different from experienced ones in terms of worldview, diction and metaphor. For any writer interested in writing teenaged characters.

Grammar is fun. And it's easier than you think. It creates clarity, adds nuance and makes sentences sing. Forget confusing terminology. We'll learn how to spot and banish common mistakes in puncutuation, sentence structure and more. Jump in and discover how truly exciting a comma can be.

Do you have a story you want to share with the world but don't know how to do it? With self-publishing you can be empowered to publish your book on your own. In this class steps like raising funds, editing, cover design, formatting, distribution, and promotion will be covered.

If you would like to learn to write, or would like to start writing again, begin here. You'll learn ways to generate a first draft and how to keep a writer's notebook. You'll learn basics of writing memoir, short fiction, and poetry. We'll do many in-class writing exercises followed by the opportunity (always optional) for you to share your work. We'll explore writing personal stories, creating characters, and using poetry to strengthen your attention to language.

In this unconventional workshop class, suitable for both fiction and nonfiction writers, we'll work through our stories-in-progress and talk about how humor can lighten the load of dark or "serious" subject matter. We'll study George Saunders, Myriam Gurba, Nafissa Thompson-Spires, David Sedaris, Paul Beatty, and Jenny Zhang, among others. Please obtain a copy of Private Citizens by Tony Tulathimutte.

How do we hook readers and keep 'em turning pages? It's tension, conflict, suspense, plot. Narrative Thrust is what keeps everything in your story or novel chugging along with everyone on board. In this advanced workshop, we will examine eight tactics for propelling your fiction while providing intensive peer feedback, prompts, and study of contemporary masters. 

Are you plunging into essays for the first time, or do you want to work on your technique and style with a specific project? In this class, we’ll write and discuss the kind of engaging narrative essays––spanning the lyrical, personal, political and humorous––found in The Best American Essays series.