Saturdays, Oct 21-Nov 18, 12-1pm EDT
Online via Zoom
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.
Capped at 20 participants.
Notes:
Registration closes Oct 13.
This course includes weekly check-in meetings via Zoom to discuss progress and ask questions. For the fully independent, self-paced version of the course (at half the price), click here.
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