Class Description
Often, the most important and consequential stories from our lives are the hardest to capture on the page. If you have a story to tell but need support bringing it into the world, this course is for you. Each week of this eight-week personal essay workshop will be oriented around a different element of craft, including structure, voice, theme, dialogue, and character. We will strategize together how to develop a specific, authentic voice; how to turn an event into a narrative that has meaning beyond ourselves; and how to manage the ethical challenges of writing from real life. Together we will read and discuss exemplary works in the personal essay genre, including pieces by Michelle Zauner, Zadie Smith, and Brit Bennett, and generate material in response to in-class writing exercises.
Each member of class will submit two drafts of a single essay (a first draft and a revised version) for written feedback from the instructor and the class, and we will discuss our work in a respectful workshop environment. Because personal essays reflect intimate issues, controversial views, and real-life situations, our conversations around the work will occur in a supportive and collaborative space.
Writing can be lonely, perhaps especially so when we have turned the lens on ourselves. In this course, we will find community and accountability together, and you will leave the eight weeks with a strong essay draft, as well as the insight and inspiration to continue writing on.
Please note: Class does not meet Monday, April 21st.
Writing Roadmap: We've created a simple, goal-based writing roadmap to help you find the perfect GrubStreet course for your writing needs.
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 detailed information about GrubStreet scholarships, including how to contribute to scholarship funds for other students, click here.
This class will take place using Zoom videoconferencing. After registering, a yellow Resources tab will appear in this section containing a link to join class. Please note that you will need to be logged into view the Resources tab.
Zoom Participation:
In our experience, the intimate nature of a writing workshop benefits from on-camera participation. Students are of course welcome to turn their camera off whenever they need to, but it is a community norm for cameras to be on most of the time. You can learn more about using Zoom here.
Zoom Accessibility:
You can enable closed captioning at any time during the meeting by clicking the CC button at the bottom of the screen. If you'd like to access the transcript after class, please make sure to let your instructor ahead of time that you'd like a copy.