The (Almond) Joy of Writing: How to Jump Start Your Creativity begins November 5! In this energizing class, author Steve Almond helps writers reconnect with what first drew them to the page—curiosity, honesty, and joy. We asked Steve to share a little bit about his teaching philosophy for this class.

One of the patterns I've lived through as a writer, too many times, is the feeling that writing has become a burden, a chore, an oppression. This happens whenever I start to take myself, and my current project, too seriously. I lose the playful, improvisatory vibe that makes me grateful to be at the keyboard. There's no cure-all for this condition. But my general approach when I feel it coming on is to lower the bar. I mean, quite simply: that I stop trying to write something big and important and deep. Instead, I focus on writing something quick and urgent.

This is why my favorite classes--to take and teach--are the kind that take a generative approach. In The (Almond) Joy of Writing, the entire focus will be on what I call "free writes," short, guided bursts of writing that will help students free up their creative selves by turning down the expectations. We'll focus on a different source of inspiration each week: Obsession (Nov. 5) and Desire (Nov. 12) to Secrets (Nov. 19) and Vices (Dec.3). The goal isn't to finish any one piece, but to discover the stories we're meant to be telling in the first place, the ones that get us out of our heads and awaken the curiosity that is the driving force of every great literary work.

We'll use the pieces students write to talk about various aspects of craft, including narration, characterization, and plot, and chronology. But the central focus will be on the stories themselves -- what they mean to the writer, and how to identify those places where the writer can dig even deeper.

The entire goal of the class will be to dial down the parts of our writer brain that inhibit us, that make us feel self-conscious or inferior, and to turn up the parts that feel empowered to speak more bravely about the truths lurking in the world around and inside us. I can't wait.