The Essay Builder (8 weeks)
8 classes, Thursdays 10:30am - 2pm ET
October 24 - December 19 (No Class on November 28)
Note: Classes will be recorded for those who have to miss sessions.
Taking place over 8 weeks, this course – taught like a condensed MFA program – will give you the craft tools, personalized feedback, and one-on-one coaching you need to generate and revise personal essays. Essays are a wonderful way to get your stories out there in shorter form, and they can be a gamechanger in helping build platform for your memoir, making you more attractive to agents and publishers. Each class will begin with an in-depth exploration of one major craft topic (see the tentative schedule below), including discussion of published essays that utilize these techniques. You will then apply these strategies to your own work through craft-focused writing and revision exercises. By the end of the class, the goal is to have 2-3 new essays drafted and at least 1 ready to submit for publication.
The first four classes will focus on generating essay ideas and drafts. Then, we’ll turn to talking about revision and submitting, which will include workshopping of early drafts of student essays. Every writer will have the chance to be workshopped once (10-15 pages of one or more personal essays, depending on the class size). This will include both oral feedback in an in-class workshop, along with written feedback from the instructor (Note that written feedback will NOT be required from you and your classmates).
The course includes a 1-hour one-on-one consulting session with the instructor to discuss craft challenges, feedback on your pages, and plans for revising and submitting your essays. This may also include discussing ideas for future essays, building your platform in support of your memoir, and compiling an essay collection. Additionally, the instructor will provide weekly “accountability checks” by email to help keep you on track with your writing goals.
You will come out of this course with detailed feedback on your essays-in-progress, an in-depth understanding of craft, and a roadmap for moving forward.
8 classes, Thursdays 10:30am - 2pm ET
October 24 - December 19 (No Class on November 28)
Note: Classes will be recorded for those who have to miss sessions.
Taking place over 8 weeks, this course – taught like a condensed MFA program – will give you the craft tools, personalized feedback, and one-on-one coaching you need to generate and revise personal essays. Essays are a wonderful way to get your stories out there in shorter form, and they can be a gamechanger in helping build platform for your memoir, making you more attractive to agents and publishers. Each class will begin with an in-depth exploration of one major craft topic (see the tentative schedule below), including discussion of published essays that utilize these techniques. You will then apply these strategies to your own work through craft-focused writing and revision exercises. By the end of the class, the goal is to have 2-3 new essays drafted and at least 1 ready to submit for publication.
The first four classes will focus on generating essay ideas and drafts. Then, we’ll turn to talking about revision and submitting, which will include workshopping of early drafts of student essays. Every writer will have the chance to be workshopped once (10-15 pages of one or more personal essays, depending on the class size). This will include both oral feedback in an in-class workshop, along with written feedback from the instructor (Note that written feedback will NOT be required from you and your classmates).
The course includes a 1-hour one-on-one consulting session with the instructor to discuss craft challenges, feedback on your pages, and plans for revising and submitting your essays. This may also include discussing ideas for future essays, building your platform in support of your memoir, and compiling an essay collection. Additionally, the instructor will provide weekly “accountability checks” by email to help keep you on track with your writing goals.
You will come out of this course with detailed feedback on your essays-in-progress, an in-depth understanding of craft, and a roadmap for moving forward.
8 classes, Thursdays 10:30am - 2pm ET
October 24 - December 19 (No Class on November 28)
Note: Classes will be recorded for those who have to miss sessions.
Taking place over 8 weeks, this course – taught like a condensed MFA program – will give you the craft tools, personalized feedback, and one-on-one coaching you need to generate and revise personal essays. Essays are a wonderful way to get your stories out there in shorter form, and they can be a gamechanger in helping build platform for your memoir, making you more attractive to agents and publishers. Each class will begin with an in-depth exploration of one major craft topic (see the tentative schedule below), including discussion of published essays that utilize these techniques. You will then apply these strategies to your own work through craft-focused writing and revision exercises. By the end of the class, the goal is to have 2-3 new essays drafted and at least 1 ready to submit for publication.
The first four classes will focus on generating essay ideas and drafts. Then, we’ll turn to talking about revision and submitting, which will include workshopping of early drafts of student essays. Every writer will have the chance to be workshopped once (10-15 pages of one or more personal essays, depending on the class size). This will include both oral feedback in an in-class workshop, along with written feedback from the instructor (Note that written feedback will NOT be required from you and your classmates).
The course includes a 1-hour one-on-one consulting session with the instructor to discuss craft challenges, feedback on your pages, and plans for revising and submitting your essays. This may also include discussing ideas for future essays, building your platform in support of your memoir, and compiling an essay collection. Additionally, the instructor will provide weekly “accountability checks” by email to help keep you on track with your writing goals.
You will come out of this course with detailed feedback on your essays-in-progress, an in-depth understanding of craft, and a roadmap for moving forward.