Do you have an idea you want to explore in writing, or an experience you’d like to capture on the page, but aren’t sure where to begin? Does the prospect of writing about yourself, or people you know, give you pause? Are you accustomed to academic or business nonfiction, but want to learn to take a more creative approach? Have you ever read an essay that changed your life, and thought, “I want to do that, but how?”

How to Write a Personal Essay will cover all the fundamentals of essay writing, and will set you up with everything you need to know to start writing about your ideas and experiences with confidence and creativity. We’ll cover the fundamentals of what makes for a great personal essay, the many shapes personal essays can take, ethical methods for writing about real life and real people, and what the publication process is like. You’ll have a chance to connect with other aspiring essayists, develop and share your essay “elevator pitch” with the group, and leave with a set of individualized questions to further prompt your writing.

Click here to find out more. Note: All times listed are in Eastern Time.

“Worldbuilding” calls to mind fictional settings—Hogwarts, Gatsby’s mansion, Alice’s Wonderland—but creating a vivid world on the page is just as essential in creative nonfiction.

Memoirs offer the unique opportunity to inhabit the inner world of the writer, accessing our deepest thoughts, feelings, and truths. Using hyper-specific detail and sensory images, memoirists can pull readers in, keep them engaged until the final sentence, and make them care about our stories and characters.

This webinar will explore why worldbuilding—both exterior and interior—is important in memoir and provide practical tips for creating memorable worlds that captivate your readers. We’ll look at examples from published memoirs to uncover how evocative settings make us care about a writer’s experience.

In this webinar you will…

• EXPLORE why worldbuilding is so important in memoir. 

• LEARN to apply worldbuilding techniques to your own memoir, including the use of “telling details,” specificity, and the five senses.

• ADDRESS the practical challenges of worldbuilding in memoir, including memory gaps, what details to include vs. not include, and more.

This webinar is ideal for…

• Writers in the process of drafting a memoir.

• Writers revising a memoir and feeling their text could be richer.

• Writers who need help enhancing the “world” of their memoir, both physical settings and the spaces of interiority.

Closed captioning is available and all registrants receive the recording

Click here to find out more. Note: All times listed are in Eastern Time.

The opening of a personal essay is crucial. Your beginning can hook a reader instantly, or cause them to abandon the essay altogether. And yet, beginnings are notoriously difficult to master. This free session will give you actionable craft techniques for honing the opening of your personal essays. We’ll discuss how to establish the stakes early, build tension, and establish your voice on the page.

I'll also share information about the 8-week Essay Builder course, where you'll be writing, revising, and submitting essays, and getting one-on-one feedback and coaching.

Click here to register for this session for free. Note: All times listed are in Eastern Time.

The opening pages of a memoir are crucial. Your beginning can leave a reader spellbound, or cause them to abandon the book altogether. And yet, beginnings are notoriously difficult to master. This seminar, designed for those who’ve completed a memoir draft, will give you actionable craft techniques for honing the opening pages of your manuscript. We’ll discuss how to establish the stakes early, build tension, and introduce the “world” and characters of your memoir.

Through a series of in-class exercises and readings, you’ll learn actionable ways to strengthen the opening of your memoir. Expect to leave this class with a toolbox of craft techniques and a detailed plan for moving toward revision.

Click here to find out more. Note: All times listed are in Eastern Time.

So you’ve finished a draft of your memoir. Now what?

This three-hour seminar will give you actionable revision strategies for honing the structure and themes of your memoir draft. Through a series of in-class exercises, you’ll finesse the “story” underlying the “situation” of your memoir and sharpen your narrative arc. We’ll discuss how to decide whether a scene belongs or not, and you’ll identify places to expand and condense. You will also be guided through exercises to help evaluate whether your memoir’s structure is working or not, and how you can make revisions that improve the narrative flow. There will be opportunities for students to share challenges and goals for their projects and to brainstorm revision ideas.

Expect to leave this class with a toolbox of revision techniques for polishing your memoir’s structure and theme.

Click here to find out more.

So you’ve finished a draft of your memoir. Now what?

This three-hour seminar will give you actionable revision strategies for developing the setting and characters in your memoir draft. Through a series of in-class exercises, you’ll enhance the worldbuilding and character development of your memoir, including making details more specific, sharpening character portrayals, and adding sociohistorical context. We’ll discuss ways to make your characters more three-dimensional on the page and improve the cohesiveness of their arcs. You will also be guided through exercises to help evaluate how closely the setting and characters align with your memoir’s themes. There will be opportunities for students to share challenges and goals for their projects and to brainstorm revision ideas.

Expect to leave this class with a toolbox of revision techniques for polishing your memoir’s setting and characters.

Click here to find out more.

Mental health stories speak to our darkest truths and teach us what it means to be human. Learn five craft tools for telling your own.

Mental health is often branded “taboo” and, for writers of memoir and personal essay, these stories can be our most vulnerable and challenging material. But there’s a reason these types of narratives are so sought after. At their best, they speak to our darkest truths and teach us what it means to be human.

In this webinar, we’ll dive headfirst into these treacherous waters and discuss strategies for crafting compelling, emotionally resonant personal narratives about mental health. We’ll study works by Roxane Gay, Esmé Weijun Wang, and others to uncover ways to write beautifully crafted, “un-put-down-able” memoirs and essays centering on mental health. We’ll also discuss strategies for self-care and “productive procrastination” so you can stay well during the writing process. You’ll leave with take-home writing

Click here to find out more.

Revising a memoir can feel overwhelming. But this crucial process helps memoirists take their story to the next level, making their work compelling to readers and irresistible to agents.

This webinar will address five approaches for revising memoir, including ramping up the stakes, honing the structure, and sharpening characters. We’ll explore published memoirs to identify what’s working, and then apply those techniques to our own manuscripts using hands-on exercises.

We’ll discuss strategies for identifying weak areas in our memoir drafts and develop action plans for how to address them. Finally, we’ll talk about how to know when your manuscript is “ready,” and what agents look for in your opening pages.

You’ll leave this webinar with a toolbox of revision strategies and a roadmap for honing your memoir draft. All registrants receive the recording.

Click here to find out more.

Mental health issues are often branded "taboo" and, as writers, they can be some of the most vulnerable and challenging topics to write about. In this class, we'll dive headfirst into these treacherous waters and discuss strategies for crafting compelling, emotionally resonant nonfiction about mental health. We'll study works by Roxane Gay, Sarah Hepola, and more, and uncover ways to write "un-put-down-able" memoirs and personal essays that take readers to dark, human places. We'll also discuss strategies for self-care and "productive procrastination" so you can stay well during the writing process.

Through in-class writing prompts and craft lessons, you'll leave class with a toolbox of ways to write powerfully about even your most difficult stories.

Click here to find out more.

Topics like mental illness, sex, and violence are often branded “taboo” and can be some of the most difficult material to write about. But at their best, these narratives speak to our darkest truths and teach us what it means to be vulnerable. Even the most stigmatized topics can be made approachable if you know how to pull the reader in and give your story universal resonance. No matter how difficult the subject matter, memoirists can keep readers engaged by using craft techniques like worldbuilding, identifying universal truths, and exercising narrative control.

This webinar will explore the challenges and opportunities of writing honestly about taboo topics. We’ll discuss why it’s so important to give voice to unsayable truths, and how to use craft tools to create unforgettable memoirs and essays. We’ll also address self-care strategies, how to know when material is “too” explicit, and how and when to exercise narrative restraint.

All registrants will receive a recording.

Click here to find out more.

The opening pages of a memoir are crucial. Your beginning can leave a reader spellbound, or cause them to abandon the book altogether. And yet, beginnings are notoriously difficult to master. This seminar, designed for those who’ve completed a memoir draft, will give you actionable craft techniques for honing the opening pages of your manuscript. We’ll discuss how to establish the stakes early, build tension, and introduce the “world” and characters of your memoir.

Through a series of in-class exercises and readings, you’ll learn actionable ways to strengthen the opening of your memoir. Expect to leave this class with a toolbox of craft techniques and a detailed plan for moving toward revision.

Click here to find out more.

The final pages of a memoir are crucial. Your ending dictates whether a reader leaves your story feeling amazed and satisfied, or disappointed. And yet, endings are notoriously difficult to master. This seminar, designed for those who’ve completed a memoir draft, will give you actionable craft techniques for honing the final pages of your manuscript. We’ll discuss techniques for providing “resolution” without reverting to cliches, closing out character arcs, and leaving readers with a lasting message that will resonate long after the final page.

Through a series of in-class exercises and readings, you’ll learn actionable ways to strengthen the ending of your memoir. Expect to leave this class with a toolbox of craft techniques and a detailed plan for moving toward revision.

Click here to find out more.

The final pages of a memoir are crucial. Your ending dictates whether a reader leaves your story feeling amazed and satisfied, or disappointed. And yet, endings are notoriously difficult to master. This seminar, designed for those who’ve completed a memoir draft, will give you actionable craft techniques for honing the final pages of your manuscript. We’ll discuss techniques for providing “resolution” without reverting to cliches, closing out character arcs, and leaving readers with a lasting message that will resonate long after the final page.

Through a series of in-class exercises and readings, you’ll learn actionable ways to strengthen the ending of your memoir. Expect to leave this class with a toolbox of craft techniques and a detailed plan for moving toward revision.

Click here to find out more.

So you’ve finished a draft of your memoir. Now what? This three-hour seminar will give you actionable revision strategies for honing the structure and themes of your memoir draft. Through a series of in-class exercises, you’ll finesse the “story” underlying the “situation” of your memoir and sharpen your narrative arc. We’ll discuss how to decide whether a scene belongs or not, and you’ll identify places to expand and condense. You will also be guided through exercises to help evaluate whether your memoir’s structure is working or not, and how you can make revisions that improve the narrative flow. There will be opportunities for students to share challenges and goals for their projects and to brainstorm revision ideas.

Expect to leave this class with a toolbox of revision techniques for polishing your memoir’s structure and theme.

Click here to find out more.

So you’ve finished a draft of your memoir. Now what?

This three-hour seminar will give you actionable revision strategies for developing the setting and characters in your memoir draft. Through a series of in-class exercises, you’ll enhance the worldbuilding and character development of your memoir, including making details more specific, sharpening character portrayals, and adding sociohistorical context. We’ll discuss ways to make your characters more three-dimensional on the page and improve the cohesiveness of their arcs. You will also be guided through exercises to help evaluate how closely the setting and characters align with your memoir’s themes. There will be opportunities for students to share challenges and goals for their projects and to brainstorm revision ideas.

Expect to leave this class with a toolbox of revision techniques for polishing your memoir’s setting and characters.

Click here to find out more.

Mental health issues are often branded "taboo" and, as writers, they can be some of the most vulnerable and challenging topics to write about. In this class, we'll dive headfirst into these treacherous waters and discuss strategies for crafting compelling, emotionally resonant nonfiction about mental health. We'll study works by Roxane Gay, Sarah Hepola, and more, and uncover ways to write "un-put-down-able" memoirs and personal essays that take readers to dark, human places. We'll also discuss strategies for self-care and "productive procrastination" so you can stay well during the writing process.

Through in-class writing prompts and craft lessons, you'll leave class with a toolbox of ways to write powerfully about even your most difficult stories.

Click here to find out more.

“Worldbuilding” calls to mind fictional settings – Hogwarts, Gatsby’s mansion, Alice’s Wonderland – but creating vivid worlds on the page is just as essential in creative nonfiction. For writers of memoir, evoking detailed, engaging worlds is one of the best ways to make readers care about our stories. What’s more, we have the opportunity to introduce readers to our interior worlds, immersing them in the complex web of our thoughts, feelings, and psyche. But how do we craft rich worlds for the reader while being limited to our lived experiences? What if we don’t remember what the weather was like that day we decided to skip town? And how do we decide what details to include and which to leave out?

Using the works of writers like Sarah M. Broom, Helen Macdonald, and Susannah Cahalan, we’ll discuss how memoirists craft worlds on the page that keep readers hooked from start to finish. We’ll also address some of the practical challenges of worldbuilding in memoir, including memory gaps and knowing what details to include and leave out.

Through in-class writing prompts and craft lessons, you’ll leave class with a toolbox of ways to apply worldbuilding techniques to your own personal narratives.

Click here to find out more.

The final pages of a memoir are crucial. Your ending dictates whether a reader leaves your story feeling amazed and satisfied, or disappointed. And yet, endings are notoriously difficult to master. This seminar, designed for those who’ve completed a memoir draft, will give you actionable craft techniques for honing the final pages of your manuscript. We’ll discuss techniques for providing “resolution” without reverting to cliches, closing out character arcs, and leaving readers with a lasting message that will resonate long after the final page.

Through a series of in-class exercises and readings, you’ll learn actionable ways to strengthen the ending of your memoir. Expect to leave this class with a toolbox of craft techniques and a detailed plan for moving toward revision.

Click here to find out more.

As writers of personal narratives, we're confronted with the dreaded question: Who cares? How do we get an impartial reader to care about the content of our lives? How do we encourage readers to keep turning the pages? In this class, we'll explore the fundamentals of how to create and build upon tension in personal narratives. Using the works of writers like Cheryl Strayed, Natasha Trethewey, Kristen Iversen, and others, we'll crack the code on how nonfiction writers ramp the stakes up high and keep them there from start to finish. Expect to leave this session with new writing and lots of strategies for how to build and maintain suspense in your nonfiction narratives.

Click here to find out more.

The opening pages of a memoir are crucial. Your beginning can leave a reader spellbound, or cause them to abandon the book altogether. And yet, beginnings are notoriously difficult to master. This seminar, designed for those who’ve completed a memoir draft, will give you actionable craft techniques for honing the opening pages of your manuscript. We’ll discuss how to establish the stakes early, build tension, and introduce the “world” and characters of your memoir.

Through a series of in-class exercises and readings, you’ll learn actionable ways to strengthen the opening of your memoir. Expect to leave this class with a toolbox of craft techniques and a detailed plan for moving toward revision.

Click here to find out more.

So you’ve finished a draft of your memoir. Now what? This three-hour seminar will give you actionable revision strategies for honing the structure and themes of your memoir draft. Through a series of in-class exercises, you’ll finesse the “story” underlying the “situation” of your memoir and sharpen your narrative arc. We’ll discuss how to decide whether a scene belongs or not, and you’ll identify places to expand and condense. You will also be guided through exercises to help evaluate whether your memoir’s structure is working or not, and how you can make revisions that improve the narrative flow. There will be opportunities for students to share challenges and goals for their projects and to brainstorm revision ideas.

Expect to leave this class with a toolbox of revision techniques for polishing your memoir’s structure and theme.

Click here to find out more.

In this 4-hour seminar, we will read examples of essays and op-eds that focus on reproductive justice. We will respond to writing prompts that will help us tell our own stories, develop our points of view, and share our work in small breakout groups. This class welcomes anyone with an interest in writing about reproductive justice.here

This seminar will be co-taught by Katie Bannon and Nora Corrigan.

Click here to find out more.

So you’ve finished a draft of your memoir. Now what?

This three-hour seminar will give you actionable revision strategies for developing the setting and characters in your memoir draft. Through a series of in-class exercises, you’ll enhance the worldbuilding and character development of your memoir, including making details more specific, sharpening character portrayals, and adding sociohistorical context. We’ll discuss ways to make your characters more three-dimensional on the page and improve the cohesiveness of their arcs. You will also be guided through exercises to help evaluate how closely the setting and characters align with your memoir’s themes. There will be opportunities for students to share challenges and goals for their projects and to brainstorm revision ideas.

Expect to leave this class with a toolbox of revision techniques for polishing your memoir’s setting and characters.

Click here to find out more.

In this 4-hour seminar, we will read examples of published abortion stories, respond to writing prompts that will help us tell our own stories, and share our work in small breakout groups. This class welcomes anyone who feels ready to write about their personal experience(s) with abortion. Writing in this class can incorporate the whole reproductive continuum–pregnancy, abortion, miscarriage–but the focus of our discussion will be on writing about abortion. Hybrid-form essays that incorporate poetry and nonfiction are also welcome in this class.

This seminar will be co-taught by Vanessa Mártir and Katie Bannon.

Click here to find out more.

Mental health issues are often branded "taboo" and, as writers, they can be some of the most vulnerable and challenging topics to write about. In this class, we'll dive headfirst into these treacherous waters and discuss strategies for crafting compelling, emotionally resonant nonfiction about mental health. We'll study works by Roxane Gay, Sarah Hepola, and more, and uncover ways to write "un-put-down-able" memoirs and personal essays that take readers to dark, human places. We'll also discuss strategies for self-care and "productive procrastination" so you can stay well during the writing process. Through in-class writing prompts and craft lessons, you'll leave class with a toolbox of ways to write powerfully about even your most difficult stories.

Click here to find out more.

"Worldbuilding” calls to mind fictional settings—Hogwarts, Gatsby’s mansion, Alice’s Wonderland—but creating vivid worlds on the page is just as essential in creative nonfiction. For writers of memoir, evoking detailed, engaging worlds is one of the best ways to make readers care about our stories. What’s more, we have the opportunity to introduce readers to our interior worlds, immersing them in the complex web of our thoughts, feelings, and psyche. But how do we craft rich worlds for the reader while being limited to our lived experiences? What if we don’t remember what the weather was like that day we decided to skip town? And how do we decide what details to include and which to leave out? Using the works of writers like Sarah M. Broom, Carmen Maria Machado, and Susannah Cahalan, we’ll discuss how memoirists craft worlds on the page that keep readers hooked from start to finish. We’ll also address some of the practical challenges of worldbuilding in memoir, including memory gaps and knowing what details to include and leave out. Through in-class writing prompts and craft lessons, you’ll leave class with a toolbox of ways to apply worldbuilding techniques to your own personal narratives.

Click here to find out more.

Mental health issues are often branded "taboo" and–as writers–they can be some of the most vulnerable and challenging topics to write about. But, when done well, mental health stories have the ability to heal and move readers, while making us all feel a little less alone. This six-week class will address strategies for crafting compelling, emotionally resonant personal narratives about mental health. Each week, we’ll look at writers who’ve successfully crafted personal stories about mental health issues–Kiese Laymon, Esme Weijun Wang, Jenny Lawson, among others–and discuss tactics for applying these lessons to our own writing. Classes will focus on craft lessons and writing exercises, along with workshopping of student work. Expect to leave this class with lots of new writing and tools for transforming your mental health stories into powerful works of creative nonfiction.

Click here to find out more.

We all know that famous Tolstoy line: "All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way." But how do we write about our uniquely dysfunctional families -- and our parents, in particular -- without being petty? How can we craft rich portraits that show their full, flawed humanity? This class will address the challenge of writing our parents as characters in memoirs and personal essays. Through studying the works of Richard Hoffman, Kiese Laymon, and others, we'll develop strategies for crafting nuanced, provocative portraits that are textured and, ultimately, compassionate. You'll leave the class with new writing and a fresh approach to putting your parents on the page.

Click here to find out more.

This course has a very clear mission: to get you started on your memoir. Through a series of targeted writing exercises, we will explore the terrain of memoir writing: mining for material, constructing scenes, structuring narratives, and honing your voice. In addition, we will review excerpts of powerful memoirs and learn how to apply similar methods to our own works. As this is a generative class, there will be no formal workshopping of student work, though there may be on-the-spot feedback of in-class writing. The class will offer a supportive and productive atmosphere for writers of every experience level.

Click here to find out more.