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The Complete Craft Toolbox for Writers of Stories, Essays, Memoirs, and Novels 8-Week Online Class, Starts Monday, January 20th, 2025
$773.00

The Complete Craft Toolbox for Writers of Stories, Essays, Memoirs, and Novels 8-Week Online Class, Starts Monday, January 20th, 2025

Class Starts Monday, January 20th, 2025

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

Taught by Kyle Minor, author of Praying Drunk, winner of the Story Prize Spotlight Award. His work appears online and in print in Esquire, The Atlantic, Iowa Review, Story, the New York Times Book Review, and three volumes of the Best American series. Sarabande Books will publish a new collection of essays, How to Disappear and Why, in August 2024.


A generative craft workshop in which writers will find many new ways to conceptualize and write stories, essays, and memoirs.
This is a course for writers who are hoping to achieve more control over their work, so they can do the unique and original things they’ve been dreaming, and for writers who are hoping to find new ways of doing business.

Each week’s work will conclude with a story-building exercise in which each writer will take what we’ve learned during the week and create multiple new starting points for stories, essays, memoirs, or novels, including new work and works-in-progress.

Note: This is not a "finished product" workshop. Rather, this is a place to find many new beginnings to chase after the course is completed.

All readings will be available through the course site.

COURSE OUTLINE:

  • Week One: The Many Versions of “Who Speaks?”
  • Week Two: The Battle of Speed v. Authority
  • Week Three: Scene-Making, Drama, and The Fight over “Who Wants What?”
  • Week Four: Opening Gambits and “The Question of Where We Begin”
  • Week Five: What Middles Are For
  • Week Six: Hot, Cold, Lukewarm, and “Maybe It’s Not Water at All” Endings
  • Week Seven: How to Build a Wall, a Fortress, a Castle, or a Boat (Structure, Blueprints, Architecture) 
  • Week Eight: The Part of Craft that’s Not Really Craft at All (or the Question of Material, Night Sweats, and Hearts Beating Hard)
COURSE TAKEAWAYS:


Mastery of Narrative Voice: Students will gain a deeper understanding of the various ways to approach narrative voice, allowing them to choose and manipulate who speaks in their stories, essays, and memoirs to create more compelling and authentic narratives.

Enhanced Story Structure Skills: Through weekly exercises and in-depth discussions on story structure, students will learn to craft strong beginnings, engaging middles, and satisfying endings. They will leave with multiple new starting points and a toolbox of techniques to structure their works effectively.

Dynamic Scene Creation: By exploring the essentials of scene-making, including drama and conflict, students will develop the ability to create vivid, dynamic scenes that drive their narratives forward and keep readers engaged.

Innovative Approach to Writing Craft: Beyond traditional craft elements, students will explore the intangible aspects of writing, such as inspiration, emotional depth, and creative authenticity. This holistic approach will empower them to tackle their projects with a fresh, innovative mindset and a renewed sense of purpose.


ONLINE COURSE STRUCTURE:

This class is entirely asynchronous, which means you complete the weekly assignments on your own schedule. There are no set meeting times in order to allow for greater participation; your cohort will consist of writers from across different time zones, which allows for a wonderful diversity of voices.

Along with your weekly deadlines, there is plenty of interaction with Kyle and your peers within Wet Ink, our dedicated online classroom. Craft materials, lectures, reading assignments, and writing prompts are all available through the online classroom. Students also post work and provide and receive feedback within the online classroom environment.

You can finish the work as you see fit week-to-week, which is perfect for any schedule. Each week, discussion questions are inspired by the assigned readings and topics in the lecture notes. Students are encouraged to take these wherever is most compelling and/or useful for them. Kyle engages with these discussions throughout the week and you will receive feedback from all assigned writing activities.

HOW DOES WET INK WORK?

Wet Ink was built and designed specifically for online writing classes. Wet Ink is private, easy to use, and very interactive. You can learn more about the Wet Ink platform by Watching a Class Demo.


PAYMENT OPTIONS:

Tuition is $495. 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.
  • Kyle Minor, Instructor
  • Class Starts Monday, January 20th, 2025
  • Tuition is $495
  • This is an asynchronous course that uses our online classroom in Wet Ink.

If you have questions, please us the Chat Button or contact us via email HERE.