Begins Monday, September 14, 2026 

Class will meet weekly via Zoom on Mondays, 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM ET

Now Enrolling! Any questions about this class? Use the Chat Button to talk with us.

Instructor Bio

Instructor Brysen Boyd is a TV writer, essayist, and playwright originally from Tacoma, WA. He served on the writing staff for HBO’s SUCCESSION, in a position created for him, is the inaugural Playwright-in-Residence at Reverie Theater Company, a proud member of the Obie Award Winning Youngblood/ Ensemble Studio Theater, and was an Artist-in-Residence at Williamstown Theater Festival. His plays include: FAMILY SIDESHOW, A NAKED MAN IN HIS EARLY 80S, and LE GIRLS. His work has been recognized and supported by The Orchard Project, National Black Theatre, Tin House, The Kennedy Center, Sewanee Writers' Conference, Columbia University, Napa Valley Writers' Conference, Seattle Playwrights’ Salon, Playwrights Studio Scotland, Citizens Theatre (Scotland), and others. His nonfiction has appeared in or is forthcoming from The Kenyon Review, The Florida Review, and Orca: A Literary Journal, and he is currently at work on a book-length nonfiction project. 

Who is this class for?

This online writing workshop is for nonfiction and flash writers at all levels who want to write with more compression, precision, and emotional impact. If you're drawn to the micro-essay, the prose poem, or the flash form—and curious how the rhythms of film, TV, and short-form video can sharpen your work—this generative class is for you. All levels welcome.

What to expect:

We're living in a world of constant motion—scrolling, swiping, watching—and it can feel like writing has to compete with that pace. In this creative nonfiction workshop, we'll explore what happens when it doesn't, and instead let the rhythms of modern media inform how we write. How can a sentence land with the immediacy of a short video? How can we stretch a moment, slow it down, and deepen its emotional impact without losing momentum? And how can compression become not just a stylistic tool, but a way into something more precise, more honest, and more felt?

This is a generative, workshop-driven course built around weekly, individualized prompts. Each week you'll receive a new exercise tailored to push your work in a specific direction—formally, structurally, and emotionally—organized around a different emotional register (urgency, intimacy, distance, obsession, restraint, and more). We'll use both text and visual media—film, television, and short-form video—as entry points, reading flash and hybrid work by writers like Jaquira Díaz, Charles Simic, Danez Smith, and Claudia Rankine, paying close attention to how they move through scenes with clarity, control, and emotional weight.

Each session is split between craft discussion and workshop, with an emphasis on developing your voice through consistent, focused practice. The goal isn't simply to write shorter pieces—it's to write sharper, more intentional ones, and to understand how emotional specificity and formal constraint work together. By the end, you'll have a body of flash nonfiction that reflects a range of emotional approaches, plus a clearer sense of how to generate, shape, and refine your work going forward.

What are the writing goals?

In this course, students will draft and revise multiple flash nonfiction pieces through weekly, individualized generative prompts—each targeting a distinct emotional register. Students will gain a deeper understanding of how emotional perspective shapes a piece, clarity on the difference between prose poems and micro-essays, and a working toolkit for writing with compression, precision, and emotional impact. Feedback comes through workshop discussion in each live session, with an emphasis on building a sustainable, generative practice that lasts beyond the course.

Readings may include excerpts from:

"Dinner at Uncle Boris's" — Charles Simic "Beach City" — Jaquira Díaz "Dinosaurs in the Hood" — Danez Smith Excerpts from Citizen — Claudia Rankine

COURSE OUTLINE

Week 1: The Feeling You Avoid — We begin with the emotion you tend to edit out, writing directly toward discomfort and honesty.

Week 2: Desire — We examine what you wanted, then and now, and how desire shapes the narrative on the page.

Week 3: Shame — We explore how shame alters memory, voice, and what you allow yourself to say.

Week 4: Distance — We look at emotional proximity and how shifting distance can reveal or conceal truth.

Week 5: Obsession — We focus on the feelings and moments that repeat, and what that repetition exposes.

Week 6: Absence — We examine what's left unsaid and how omission can carry emotional weight.

Week 7: Contradiction — We hold conflicting emotions at once, resisting the urge to simplify or resolve.

Week 8: Clarity — We refine the work to uncover what the piece ultimately understands.

COURSE TAKEAWAYS:

• Experience writing through weekly, individualized generative prompts
• A deeper understanding of how emotional perspective shapes a piece
• Clarity on the difference between prose poems and micro-essays
• Multiple drafted and revised flash nonfiction pieces
• Tools for writing with compression, precision, and emotional impact
• Strategies for sustaining a generative writing practice beyond the course

TESTIMONIALS:

"Brysen Boyd's imaginative prompts, thoughtful feedback, and insider industry tips made for a rich and delightful learning experience. As a veteran teacher, playwright and novelist myself, I found the class to be exceptionally well-designed. Brysen was so generous with his time and expertise. I'd yelp him all the stars!" — Dr. Jennifer Natalya Fink, Georgetown University

"A rare find. Brysen has mastered the complex art of drawing out great work from artists of all levels without demanding an effort that contorts a work's true potential or the writer's intentions. As a poet, it was a marvel to begin to uncover what I was capable of in other formats, and to have so much fun while doing it! I appreciated Brysen's ability to craft a supportive, safe, and creatively stimulating environment. I'm still in touch with my classmates, and the framework provided continues to help me shape my creative writing life." — Elizabeth K.

"Brysen Boyd gives experienced advice on the creation of characters, the structure of action, and the execution of story development in a laid back environment filled with solid advice and compassion. I highly recommend workshopping with Brysen! This workshop can nurture one's first glimmer of an idea to one's own finished script." — Michanne D.

PAYMENT OPTIONS:

Tuition is $545 USD. You can pay for the course in full or use Shop Pay or Affirm to pay over time with equal Monthly Payments. Both options are available at checkout.

ONLINE COURSE STRUCTURE:

• Instructor: Brysen Boyd
• Begins Monday, September 14, 2026
• Class will meet weekly via Zoom on Mondays, 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM ET
• Tuition is $545 USD.