Creative Nonfiction Seminars
Creative Writing MFA-level style courses taught by a university instructor
There are many writing programs out there that want to help you finish your book and workshops that want to help you craft your story. This is different from that type of course. My seminars are built on the foundation of how MFA courses in Creative Writing are taught in universities. Courses with the deep study of texts that have students looking at form, narrative, and technique. Seminars with syllabi and intense reading schedules that will stretch you as a writer (and reader).
The seminars that I teach are built around independent study in what I call “Voice in your Education” within a community/cohort of other writers committed to rigor, curiosity, and investigation. There is an expectation that you are willing to put in the hard work of self-study and bring the insights and questions into the community. We are all coming at this creative work from our own journey and have our own blocks and struggles as a writer, and as part of the semester, we have built-in coaching sessions. In addition to getting a graduate-like seminar, you also gain one-on-one time with a writing coach.
Now, enrolling in a university MFA program is no longer necessary to get that same type of study. I offer a range of seminars, including a full-semester (13-week), a minimester (5-6 weeks), and a two-week intensive that examines the craft of writing through reading and examining texts with generative exercises.
So, if you have been interested in getting an MFA but didn’t want to go into debt, quit your job, or move to a new state. . . or if you love to be in a classroom setting to learn. You can now take a graduate-level-type course without the grades and final seminar project. Get the instruction and deep study without the high cost and added pressure of earning a degree. Learn what the intensive study of narrative can provide to your understanding of craft and how it can inform your own work.
Undergraduate degree and previous graduate work or degree not required.
**These seminars are not connected to a university or MFA program, nor are they credited. Taking these seminars will not lead you to an MFA degree or certificate. They are for personal study only.
“Reading widely makes you a livelier, richer person and that would feed into your writing” –Lisel Mueller
How It Works
No admissions testing/No application/No writing sample required. These entirely virtual courses are for writers at all levels (and you might not even consider yourself a writer but are interested in the deep study of text).read more
This program is informal, outside academia, and therefore not subject to bureaucracy. This program does not lead to credits or a degree, but it is designed to align with the same rigor and study as a graduate-level course.
And by taking one of the courses, you gain access to an editor and coach who cares about you and wants to see you thrive and grow as a writer. Learn more about my editing and coaching and the ways we can work together.
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me.
Pricing
13-Week Seminars – $1800; payment plan option $600/month over 3 months (includes 2 FREE 1-hour coaching sessions)
5-Week Minimester – $1000; payment plan option of $200/week over 5 weeks (includes 2 FREE 1-hour coaching sessions)
2-Week Intensive – $800; payment plan option of $400/week over 2 weeks
Upcoming Courses:
Spring 2024
2024-25 Course offerings will be posted in February
“Culture is lost when we neglect to tell our stories, when we forget the power and craft of storytelling” –Deborah A. Miranda
Spring 2024
In this course, we will examine narrative and how stories unfold. Readings draw from a range of nonfiction texts, and our discussion will raise questions regarding sequencing, pacing, voice, and the overall structure of narrative development. How is the author unfurling their story? What is absent or withheld, and why? How does the author intertwine other narratives within their own story? What can we learn from this intensive study to inform our own writing? As a cohort, we will walk through this close study of how personal stories are told and how themes are developed.
For the generative portion of this course, we will experiment with various methods and techniques to tell our stories.
This course expects an intensive reading of the assigned texts as well as avid contribution to the community of the classroom via class discussion and exercise participation.
Tuesday Course
13 weeks, February 6 – April 30, 2024
Tuesdays, 3:30-5 pm PST/6:30-8 pm EST
Format: Synchronous online course (Zoom)
$1800
(payment plan option $600/month over 3 months)
Only 10 spots available
(early registration is encouraged)
Last day to register: January 31
Thursday Course
13 weeks, February 8 – May 2, 2024
Thursdays, 3:30-5 pm PST/6:30-8 pm EST
Format: Synchronous online course (Zoom)
$1800
(payment plan option $600/month over 3 months)
Only 10 spots available
(early registration is encouraged)
Last day to register: January 31
Tuesday Course
13 weeks, February 6 – April 30, 2024
Tuesdays, 3:30-5 pm PST/6:30-8 pm EST
Format: Synchronous online course (Zoom)
$1800
(payment plan option $600/month over 3 months)
Only 10 spots available
(early registration is encouraged)
Last day to register: January 31
Thursday Course
13 weeks, February 8 – May 2, 2024
Thursdays, 3:30-5 pm PST/6:30-8 pm EST
Format: Synchronous online course (Zoom)
$1800
(payment plan option $600/month over 3 months)
Only 10 spots available
(early registration is encouraged)
Last day to register: January 31