Courses

One of the biggest challenges of writing is facing the blank page, and one of the most tried-and-true methods for outdistancing the inner critic—the voice that makes it hard to put down the first word—is writing quickly. Finding your voice means figuring out the best ways to encourage your first creative impulses before anything else takes over. In this two-day intensive course, we will take on a range of exercises designed to tap into your most fiction-worthy responses—the unplanned words that take you by surprise and carry you forward into ideas for a story or even a novel. We’ll take a look at brief excerpts from writers like Flannery O’Connor, George Saunders, and Kelly Link, and we’ll also work with writing prompts and timed writing exercises for small group feedback. These activities are designed to help launch you on the road to finding your voice and developing good creative habits. Along the way, we’ll talk briefly about what makes a good story, and discuss some of the basic elements of fiction writing, like character, conflict, etc. This workshop is for beginners interested in fiction writing of all kinds.