Whether you’re in a creative drought and need help coming up with new essay ideas, or you just feel like you keep repeating the same essay forms and want to try something new, this Generative Essay Lab is for you.
Each section of the course will focus on a different way into telling personal stories, including some familiar forms like the flash essay and the investigative essay, as well as some hyper-specific prompts like using a single defining scene as a container for a larger story, and writing a personal essay about a piece of art. Each section includes example essays, a written lecture/craft essay, and a detailed multi-step prompt. By the end of the course, you’ll have five brand new essay drafts.
Note: This is a fully independent, self-paced course with no live component or feedback.
Just a little bit of prep work
Super short essays that pack a punch in under 1,000 words
Essays that use a single defining moment (rendered in a vivid, tangible scene) as a container for a big, complicated story
Essays driven by questions
Using personal experience to make a big, complicated social issue feel tangible and urgent
Writing about art as a way to articulate a personal experience
"Lilly is the queen of non-fiction prompts and craft lessons. As someone with an MFA, I got just as much from this very affordable and intimate class as I did from a top tier graduate program course."
"Lilly's lesson plans, sample essays and prompts were so valuable in helping me explore new genres and write new work, but also in finding the right structure for essays that I struggled with for a long time. She is so insightful and creates such a welcoming environment to explore areas of essay writing that you might find intimidating."
"Lilly's class provided both a thorough tutorial on different styles of essays, with great examples, and wonderful craft lessons and prompts to jump start each writer. It is excellent for both new and seasoned writers."