Personal Essay in Progress: Craft - Remote!

Part of a two-part series! Students can take one or both parts of the class. Check out the second half here: Personal Essay in Progress: Revision.

This workshop is designed for writers who are already working on a variety of personal essay projects and want to improve their essay craft in a supportive and constructively critical environment. Typically, each week, including the first class, three to four students will bring in up to 12 pages (approx. 1,500-3,000 words maximum) of a personal essay draft or excerpt and receive on-the-spot oral feedback (students may be asked to read these pages in advance of class). The workshop will also offer weekly craft lessons, in-class readings, and writing exercises to help writers understand and practice scene-writing, reflective voice, narrative time, descriptive writing and other craft issues as they arise. The instructor will offer written feedback on one complete draft of any single essay.

Depending on enrollment, each student should expect to present work for the workshop once or twice. For intermediate and advanced students.

This class will be hosted using live Zoom meetings! You will be able to participate in class via Zoom videoconference from wherever you’re most comfortable. All you’ll need is a laptop or a phone! About 15 minutes before your class is scheduled to begin, you'll receive an email from your instructor with a link to join the class meeting via Zoom–no need to download anything or sign up for Zoom in advance! If you have questions about remote learning, please feel free to reach out to [email protected] for more information.

For a glimpse at how remote learning works, look no further than the deep Zoom discussion of writing and literature below:

Scholarship Information

Thanks to the excellent literary citizenship of our donors, scholarships are available for all GrubStreet classes. To apply, click the gray "APPLY FOR SCHOLARSHIP" button. In order to be considered for a scholarship, you must complete your application at least one week before the start date of a class. Please await our scholarship committee's decision before registering for the class. We cannot hold spots in classes, so the sooner you apply, the better. Scholarships cannot be applied retroactively.

For more more detailed information about GrubStreet scholarships, including how to contribute to scholarship funds for other students, click here.