Pathway: Expand & Discuss

Expand & Discuss Offerings

For readers and writers who love digging in, this pathway offers rich conversations and craft-focused discussions centered around books and big ideas. Grow, question, and engage with others who love to think critically about stories and storytelling.

Writing Excuses Event
Writing Excuses Live @ the Loft | June 24

Join the Loft for a rare chance to watch the award-winning Writing Excuses podcast record live episodes, right here in Minneapolis. Audience members will be able to bring their writing questions to the show and have a chance to get them answered.

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Blog image for Reading Like a Writer column featuring the title and a pencil lying on top of a notebook on a table.
Reading Like a Writer: Real Within the Surreal

In this post, Aimee Johnson takes over Allison Wyss’s Reading Like a Writer column. In her analysis of You Too Can Have a Pass Rate Like Mine, she explores how Swati Sudarsan fuses surreal humor with stark classroom realities.

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Expand & Discuss Classes
Expand & Discuss
Online
Double Session
Fiction Toolkit: Postcolonial Fantasy and Horror Writing
Date
Jun 19, 2025 - Jul 3, 2025
Time
Thursday, 1 p.m. - Thursday, 3 p.m.
Price
$74.00
$66.60 (Friend)
Anaïs Duplan
Expand & Discuss
Online
Single Session
Writing Your Debut: The Powerful Beginning
Date
Time
Saturday, 1 p.m. - 4 p.m.
Price
$55.50
$49.95 (Friend)
Samina Ali
Expand & Discuss
In-Person
8 Week
8-Week: Heat, Escalation, Danger, Delusion: Re-thinking the Short Story
Date
Jun 18, 2025 - Aug 13, 2025
Time
Wednesday, 6 p.m. - Wednesday, 8 p.m.
Price
$296.00
$266.40 (Friend)
Josh Cook
Expand & Discuss
Online
Single Session
poeTRYhealing
Date
Time
Saturday, 9 a.m. - 12 p.m.
Price
$55.50
$49.95 (Friend)
Cassie Premo Steele
Expand & Discuss
Online
6 Week
From Novice to Novelist in 6 Weeks
Date
Jun 25, 2025 - Jul 30, 2025
Time
Wednesday, 6 p.m. - Wednesday, 8 p.m.
Price
$222.00
$199.80 (Friend)
John DeDakis
Expand & Discuss
Online
Single Session
Organic Poetry
Date
Time
Saturday, 1 p.m. - 4 p.m.
Price
$55.50
$49.95 (Friend)
Michael Curran-Dorsano
Expand & Discuss
Online
Single Session
Not a Love Poem, but Something Close
Date
Time
Saturday, 10 a.m. - 1 p.m.
Price
$55.50
$49.95 (Friend)
Asa Drake
Expand & Discuss
Online
6 Week
6-Week: Writing for Kids 101
Date
Jun 17, 2025 - Jul 22, 2025
Time
Tuesday, 6 p.m. - Tuesday, 8 p.m.
Price
$222.00
$199.80 (Friend)
Tina Tocco
Expand & Discuss
Online
Single Session
The Power of Retelling in Fiction
Date
Time
Saturday, 10 a.m. - 2 p.m.
Price
$74.00
$66.60 (Friend)
Kate Heartfield
Expand & Discuss
Online
Single Session
Developing a Daily Creative Writing Practice
Date
Time
Saturday, 9 a.m. - 12 p.m.
Price
$55.50
$49.95 (Friend)
Heidi Newbauer
Expand & Discuss
In-Person
8 Week
Variations on a Theme: An 8-Week Generative Poetry Workshop
Date
Jun 19, 2025 - Aug 7, 2025
Time
Thursday, 6 p.m. - Thursday, 8 p.m.
Price
$296.00
$266.40 (Friend)
Amy Sailer
Expand & Discuss
Online
Single Session
Summer Sampler: Publishing with Shawna Kenney
Date
Time
Saturday, 1 p.m. - 2 p.m.
Price
$8.00
$7.20 (Friend)
Shawna Kenney
Expand & Discuss
In-Person
8 Week
8-Week: Writing Oral Histories
Date
Jun 17, 2025 - Aug 5, 2025
Time
Tuesday, 4 p.m. - Tuesday, 6 p.m.
Price
$296.00
$266.40 (Friend)
Victoria Blanco
Expand & Discuss
Online
Single Session
Crafting Authentic Dialogue in Children's and Young Adult Lit
Date
Time
Tuesday, 1 p.m. - 4 p.m.
Price
$55.50
$49.95 (Friend)
Jake Maia Arlow
Expand & Discuss
In-Person
Single Session
Research Tools for Authentic Historical Nonfiction and Fiction
Date
Time
Saturday, 1 p.m. - 4 p.m.
Price
$55.50
$49.95 (Friend)
Holly Day
Expand & Discuss
Online
Single Session
Plot: Creating Urgency in a Story
Date
Time
Wednesday, 10 a.m. - 12 p.m.
Price
$37.00
$33.30 (Friend)
Karen Bender
Expand & Discuss
Online
Single Session
Summer Sampler: Fiction with Jenee Skinner
Date
Time
Wednesday, 1 p.m. - 2 p.m.
Price
$8.00
$7.20 (Friend)
Jeneé Skinner
Expand & Discuss
In-Person
Single Session
Writing Birds
Date
Time
Saturday, 10 a.m. - 1 p.m.
Price
$55.50
$49.95 (Friend)
Greta Gaard
Expand & Discuss
In-Person
6 Week
6-Week: The Mother Writer
Date
Jun 18, 2025 - Jul 30, 2025
Time
Wednesday, 6 p.m. - Wednesday, 8 p.m.
Price
$222.00
$199.80 (Friend)
Kaia Preus
Expand & Discuss
In-Person
Single Session
The Poetics of Hope: Writing and Reading Poetry
Date
Time
Saturday, 1 p.m. - 4 p.m.
Price
$55.50
$49.95 (Friend)
Marlin M. Jenkins
Expand & Discuss
Online
4 Week
4-Week: The Art of Dialogue
Date
Jul 10, 2025 - Jul 31, 2025
Time
Thursday, 6 p.m. - Thursday, 8 p.m.
Price
$148.00
$133.20 (Friend)
Piper Lane
Expand & Discuss
In-Person
Single Session
Writing Characters That Walk Off the Page for Writers of Color and Indigenous Writers
Date
Time
Saturday, 10 a.m. - 12 p.m.
Price
$37.00
$33.30 (Friend)
Carolyn Holbrook
Expand & Discuss
Online
8 Week
8-Week: Short Story Nitty Gritty
Date
Jun 18, 2025 - Aug 13, 2025
Time
Wednesday, 6 p.m. - Wednesday, 9 p.m.
Price
$444.00
$399.60 (Friend)
Troy Wilderson
Expand & Discuss
In-Person
4 Week
4-Week: Writing Novels for Middle Grade
Date
Jul 24, 2025 - Aug 14, 2025
Time
Thursday, 6 p.m. - Thursday, 8 p.m.
Price
$148.00
$133.20 (Friend)
Kat Shepherd