Class Starts Wednesday, February 5th, 2025

Class will meet weekly via Zoom (Wednesdays, 5PM EST - 7PM EST).

Any questions about this class? Use the Chat Button (lower left) to talk with us.

Led by Pingmei Lan, whose work has appeared in The Florida Review, Blackbird, Epiphany, Smokelong Quarterly, Tahoma Literary Review and others. She is a winner of the 2019 PEN/DAU Best Debut Short Stories prize, a finalist in the Atlanta Review's 2019 International Poetry Competition and a 2021 Tennessee Williams Scholar at the Sewanee Writers’ Conference and the 2022 Nancy Zafris Memorial Scholar at the Kenyon Review Writers' Workshop.

Read an Interview with Pingmei on unlocking the craft of writing engaging fiction.

A craft class for advanced fiction writers seeking to learn or improve techniques on building an effective timeline and structure, or create vivid and well-paced scenes.

No matter if you are a seasoned writer, you've probably experienced moments of frustration which pulled you away from the work at hand for a day or a longer period of writer's block.

This course, open to writers with advanced scene-writing experience, is designed to help writers to regain the focus on writing with specific craft techniques. Whether you are a meticulous outliner or an intuitive writer who focuses on flow, this class will take you through specific steps of designing or reworking the structure, timeline, and pacing for your work so you could unlock the flow of ideas, polish a rough draft, or transform an anecdote into a strong, compelling story.

Throughout the course, students will be given writing prompts and revision guidelines to help them enhance their learning and apply them to their own work.

Writers will walk away with several key timeline principles and fundamental story structures, based on examples from award-winning works by the likes of Jhumpa Lahiri, Charles Yu, and Kirstin Valdez Quade (exact reading list may be adjusted for a specific session). Each writer will also submit to workshop once, to receive written and verbal feedback from the instructor and their peers.

The course aims to reconnect students to a variety of literary forms, voices, and traditions, so an open-mind and willingness to discover, write, and explore are the most fundamental qualities needed.

COURSE TAKEAWAYS:

• A deeper understanding of the importance of timeline, pacing, and structure in fiction.
• The ability to recognize and identify structural elements from known literary works.
• Key ways to incorporate known structures and to use timeline techniques in new work.

By the end of the class, you will have the advanced tools you need to create a polished work of fiction.

COURSE SKELETON:

• Week 1 - Introduction, Framed Narratives
• Week 2 - Workshop, The Art of Braiding
• Week 3 - Workshop, Sex, Power and Pacing
• Week 4 - Workshop, Timeline & Characterization
• Week 5 - Workshop, Plot: Heroes and Sci-fis
• Week 6 - Workshop,  Scenes, Dialogues & Details
• Week 7 - Workshop, List Stories & Alternative Forms
• Week 8 - Workshop, Summary Q & A

COURSE TEXTS:

• "You Know You Want it Ice Cold" by Rachel Heng
• "A Temporary Matter" by Jhumpa Lahiri    
• "Creative Writing" by Etgar Keret    
• "Off" by Aimee Bender    
• "Standard Loneliness Package" by Charles Yu    
• "The Husband Stitch" by Carmen Maria Machado 

* Please also note that additional readings may be provided as part of the syllabus.

TESTIMONIALS:

Pingmei's class unlocked something deep in my memory or subconscious and I wrote a scene that I didn't think I could write. -former student

Pingmei gives very generous feedback to other writers and her comments are humorous and helpful. -former student

Pingmei's critique notes are very impressive. I shared them with my writing group as well and they were equally impressed. -former student

Pingmei leads a wonderful workshop. Her comments are insightful, and she leads discussion in an encouraging and inclusive manner. She takes into account the writer’s intention, highlights what is working as well as points of confusion, and asks questions that allow both readers and the writer to look at character, pacing, and theme in different ways. Her critiques are incredibly in-depth and thought-provoking. I felt completely comfortable while in workshop, and came away with both new ideas and increased confidence in my own writing. -former student

Pingmei was a wonderful, straightforward, and kind teacher, and I am eager to take another class with her. -former student

This was a fantastic class. Pingmei was a thoughtful instructor who really challenged me to think about the way realism and magical realism interact. -former student

I’ve loved Pingmei Lan’s workshops. She offers: Creative, interesting and intelligent course design and presentation. Research-based awareness and experience. Engaging and exploratory discussions. Supportive and advancing feedback. Keen insights. A spirit of adventure. Heart. Wisdom. Pingmei is a well-deserved recipient of awards and accolades by academics and peers. She is the best writing instructor I’ve encountered. Her workshops are a combination of live coaching and online learning. Two workshops currently offered as of February, 2024: Pacing Structure and Timeline, and Beyond Realism: Writing the Magical, Cultural and Mythical. I’m pestering her to offer many, many more. Pingmei’s workshops have been pivotal for me as a writer and creative. -former student

Pingmei Lan is one of the best Writing Instructors I've ever had. -former student

This was an amazing learning experience and while the class focused on Magical Realism, the skills taught could apply to other areas of writing. I would recommend anyone interested in writing to take this class. -former student

I loved this class for so many different reasons. Here are some of the things I appreciated especially (in no particular order):  1. The lectures were extremely useful. I was so glad there were lecture notes available in the shared drive, along with extra readings. I appreciated how specific the lecture topics were and getting introduced to a wide variety of authors. 2. The workshops were very detailed, friendly and full of insights on the lecture topics. I liked that Pingmei helped connect the craft ideas in lecture to particular examples in students' workshop pieces and comments. It was also great to see comments trickle in as the week progressed. Making workshop pieces due several days before the class was helfpul, so that people can take their time to provide written comments (that the author can refer back to easily, and won't have to desperately take notes during the session as much).  3. Pingmei is very friendly and her style of critique was so generous - she provided well thought out and detailed feedback for work submitted along with suggestions. She also has so much knowledge about other authors to check out, and was willing to stay after class and meet separately to talk about writing. She is a great teacher, I am really thankful to have gotten to take this class. -former student

This course helped open my eyes to the craft behind writing magical realism! There was a good balance of lecture, recommended readings, resources, and group discussion. Pingmei is an excellent instructor - I would highly recommend her course! -former student

ONLINE COURSE STRUCTURE:

This class meets weekly via Zoom. Come prepared for a super fun class with live interaction on Zoom each week and plenty of writing, reading, and talking!

• Instructor: Pingmei Lan
• Class size limited to 10 writers
• Class Starts Wednesday, February 5th, 2024
• Class will meet via Zoom on Wednesdays, 5PM EST - 7PM EST.
• Tuition is $695.

Instructor Pingmei Lan holds an MFA in creative writing. Her work has appeared in The Florida Review, Blackbird, Epiphany, Smokelong Quarterly, Tahoma Literary Review and others. She is a winner of the 2019 PEN/DAU Best Debut Short Stories prize, a finalist in the Atlanta Review's 2019 International Poetry Competition and a 2021 Tennessee Williams Scholar at the Sewanee Writers’ Conference and the 2022 Nancy Zafris Memorial Scholar at the Kenyon Review Writers' Workshop.