The Self, The Writer and The Story

In this seminar, we will dip into what Bonnie Friedman calls the “emotional side of the writer’s life.” Why? Because tapping into the joy of language is a head and heart exercise. We will begin by creating a portrait (no drawing skills needed) of our present-day and writer selves. After falling in love with ourselves, we will wake up to our characters and invite our stories in through prompts and free writing exercises. This is meant to help you generate new ideas or relight the spark for existing work.

We will draw our inspiration from Friedman’s book “Writing Past Dark” and notes on process and creation from other writers, including Kiese Laymon, Ocean Vuong, Amanda Gorman, and Vivian Gornick. This seminar, while open to all genres and levels, may be of special interest to literary nonfiction and fiction writers and writers who are in the early stages of their journey.

Class Format

This class will take place using Zoom videoconferencing. 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!

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.