Begins Saturday, November 7, 2026

Class will meet weekly via Zoom on Saturdays, November 7, 14, and 21, from 4:00 PM – 6:00 PM ET

🌍 Class Times by Time Zone: Los Angeles (PST): 1:00 PM – 3:00 PM / Chicago (CST): 3:00 PM – 5:00 PM / New York (EST): 4:00 PM – 6:00 PM / London (GMT): 9:00 PM – 11:00 PM / Berlin (CET): 10:00 PM – 12:00 AM

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

Instructor Elise LeSage is a writer and educator based in North Carolina, where she earned her MFA in fiction from UNC Greensboro. She is an alum of the Tin House Summer Workshop, the Kenyon Summer Workshop, and Clarion UCSD. Her fiction has appeared in or is forthcoming in EPOCH, Hypertext Magazine, Flash Frog, PseudoPod, and elsewhere. Her craft essays have been featured in The Writers' Chronicle and Author's Publish Magazine. Elise has over three years of experience teaching creative writing. She also has a background in book marketing, having partnered with publishers like Duke University Press and Forest Avenue Press. Her work as a fiction educator emphasizes publication-readiness. She loves to help her students find their place in the literary ecosystem.

Who is this class for?

This online writing class is for fiction writers who want to explore narrators beyond the human perspective, from animals to objects, ghosts to gods. Open to all levels, this creative writing workshop welcomes writers who enjoy taking risks and experimenting on the page.

What to expect:

Non-human narrators—from animals to spirits, deities to robots—offer writers an exciting chance to rethink perspective, voice, and character. They can also be intimidating to write. In this generative craft workshop, we'll explore techniques for creating compelling non-human narrators through sensory experience, desire, worldview, and voice. We'll examine how contemporary authors make strange perspectives feel emotionally resonant while also preserving what makes them delightfully inhuman. You'll leave with a polished ~2,000-word scene or story opening, plus instructor feedback.

Our readings will include Thomas Nagel's classic essay "What Is It Like to Be a Bat?" alongside fiction by George Saunders, Chris Adrian, Talia Lakshmi Kolluri, and others. Drawing from both fiction craft and introductory ideas in posthuman thought, we'll consider how different beings perceive the world, what they value, and how their distinct perspectives can drive great stories.

Throughout this three-week Zoom writing class, students will complete a series of playful, low-stakes writing exercises, including character sketches, perspective experiments, and exploratory scenes from non-human points of view. The emphasis is on discovery rather than perfection. Students will leave with new material, instructor feedback, and techniques they can apply to their own work.

What are the writing goals?

In this course, students will produce brief in-class exercises (brainstorms and voice work) alongside longer take-home assignments, including character sketches and exploratory scenes written from non-human points of view. Each student will select a writing sample of up to 2,000 words and receive one-on-one instructor feedback in a live meeting with Elise at the end of the workshop.

Readings may include excerpts from:

Thomas Nagel's "What Is It Like to Be a Bat?"
Talia Lakshmi Kolluri's "The Open Ocean Is an Endless Desert"
George Saunders' "Fox 8"
Joy Deva Baglio's "We Are Sorry for Your Suffering"
Chris Adrian's "A Tiny Feast"

COURSE OUTLINE

Week One: Sensory Experience

Introductory presentation on concepts in posthumanism. In-class writing exercises on the senses. Take-home assignment on scene-setting. Readings: Thomas Nagel's "What Is It Like to Be a Bat?" and Talia Lakshmi Kolluri's "The Open Ocean Is an Endless Desert."

Week Two: Inhuman Language

Presentation on voice. Close reading of George Saunders' "Fox 8" (excerpt). In-class writing exercise on voice. Take-home assignment: character sketch. Reading: "We Are Sorry for Your Suffering" by Joy Deva Baglio.

Week Three: Morality and Desire

Presentation on character goals—a traditional craft lesson—and non-human morality. In-class "manifesto" exercise exploring the goals and values of a non-human character. Reading: "A Tiny Feast" by Chris Adrian. Students share work in class, followed by instructor feedback.

COURSE TAKEAWAYS:

• Techniques for building non-human narrators through sensory experience, desire, worldview, and voice
• A working introduction to posthuman concepts like umwelt and qualia, applied directly to character psychology rather than abstract theory
• A portfolio of new generative material, including character sketches, perspective experiments, and exploratory scenes
• A polished scene or story opening of up to 2,000 words
• One-on-one instructor feedback on the writing sample of your choice
• A close-reading vocabulary drawn from contemporary authors who write strange perspectives well

TESTIMONIALS:

"I am very happy that I took this class. It gave me an outlet for my favorite thing, which is the writing and reading of Fantasy and Science Fiction, and just literature in general. I learned a lot about the craft of writing, and I will take all of it with me on my journey towards traditional publishing and a career in writing."
— Former Student

PAYMENT OPTIONS:

Tuition is $280 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: Elise LeSage
• Begins Saturday, November 7, 2026
• Class will meet weekly via Zoom on Saturdays, November 7, 14, and 21, from 4:00 PM – 6:00 PM ET
• Tuition is $280 USD.