Four courses. One clear purpose.

What the course covers

• The difference between a personal essay and a memoir excerpt
• How to identify the essay's central question or tension
• Using concrete detail as the engine of meaning
• Structural approaches: braided, lyric, linear, and hybrid
• Revision as a process of discovering what the essay is actually about

Format

Sessions run weekly over eight weeks. Each session includes taught material, writing exercises, and discussion of readings selected by the instructor. Participants submit short pieces between sessions and receive written feedback.

Who it suits

Writers who have something they want to say about their own experience but are uncertain how to shape it. No prior essay writing experience is required.

What the course covers

• Different modes of journaling and what each one produces
• How to write honestly without performing for a reader
• Using journaling as a source of material for longer work
• Developing a consistent practice without rigidity
• Working with memory, present-tense observation, and speculation
• The relationship between journaling and creative health

Format

Six weekly sessions, each focused on a different mode or application of journaling. Between sessions, participants maintain a journal using prompts provided by the instructor and bring observations back to the group.

Who it suits

People who have tried journaling and stopped, or who want to develop a more structured relationship with their private writing. Also useful for writers at any level who want to develop observational habits.

What the course covers

• Character development in compressed form
• Point of view: choosing and maintaining a perspective
• Scene construction and the management of time
• Building and releasing tension
• Endings: what they need to do and how to write them

Format

Ten weekly sessions. Participants write two complete short stories during the course, each with a round of instructor feedback and a structured revision process. Reading assignments drawn from contemporary short fiction are included.

Who it suits

Anyone interested in writing fiction who wants a structured approach. Also useful for writers who have completed longer fiction projects and want to develop precision and economy in their prose.

What the course covers

• Linear, non-linear, and braided structural approaches
• How information management creates suspense and surprise
• The relationship between structure and genre expectations
• Reading existing texts as structural case studies
• Applying structural analysis to your own work in progress
• When to break structural conventions and how to do it deliberately

Format

Eight weekly sessions, with a mix of analytical and generative work. Participants analyze published texts and apply what they learn to short writing exercises. The course can be taken alongside any of the other three courses.

Who it suits

Writers working in any form who want to develop their structural instincts. Particularly useful for writers who feel that their work is technically competent but lacks shape or momentum.