Begins Monday, November 4th, 2024

The class will meet weekly via Zoom on Mondays, 7:00PM Eastern - 9:00 PM Eastern.

Scheduling Note: We will skip the week of November 11th and finish the class on Monday, November 25th.

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

Instructor Mimi Hayes is an American comedian and author of I'll Be OK, It's Just a Hole in My Head. Hayes wrote her first memoir while recovering from a brain injury at the age of twenty-two. Her honest take on trauma and love followed her to the stage as a stand-up comedian where she has performed on stages such as TEDx, Denver Comedy Works, Broadway Comedy Club, The Moth, Stand Up NY, Dangerfield's, PDA Space, and The Upright Citizen’s Brigade. She has also opened for Jim Gaffigan. Her one-woman storytelling shows "I'll Be OK" and “20-Nothing” have toured at the Edinburgh and Denver Fringe Festivals with rave reviews. Mimi’s TED Talk Laughter is NOT the best medicine has reached international audiences.

Learn more about Mimi in our Meet the Teaching Artist Series. 

If you’re anything like me, you fly through life by the seat of your pants. Turns out that applies to my writing style, too. And there’s a name for it in the writing biz: “Pantsers.”

The true nature of a “Pantser” is to be an agent of chaos: to write with no road map and to go where the pen/keyboard takes us. Sound familiar?

OK, so what happens when you pants yourself out and you’re so far down the road you don’t actually know where you are and you can’t even find your pants???

In this class, I will help you find the true structure and path for your book. Whether you’re knee-deep in editing a manuscript with no discernible direction, or if you’re just getting started and feeling anxious about the road ahead.

We will read excerpts of Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert. We will also be doing a small workshop with our scenes, so feel free to bring a page or so to work with in class

COURSE OUTLINE:

Week 1 - Pantsers vs. Planners (discovering where you are in the writing journey)

Week 2 - How to use notecards and plotting tools 

Week 3 - Overarching themes and missing pieces

Scheduling Note: We will skip the week of November 11th and finish the class on Monday, November 25th.

COURSE TAKEAWAYS:

• How to focus individual chapters and connect chapters through themes.
• Using notecards to outline the work and find the missing pieces.
• Students will produce a roadmap of their memoir using notecards.

TESTIMONIALS:

“Mimi knows how to create a comfortable and fun space for you to pursue your writing goals. She is not only skilled at taking you through the editing process but cheers you on the entire time with her positive energy and encouraging words. I highly recommend you add her to your creative arsenal for your next writing project!” — Lisa G.

“Mimi effectively combines her multiple and unique talents (teaching, writing, comedy, survivor of life’s curveballs) to help you gather incomplete ramblings and turn them into cohesive, compelling stories. She uses surgical precision to extract the stories you didn’t even know you had inside of you- all without the actual pain and unsightly scarring of surgery. Best of all, she subtly reminds you that being a writer is a gift and can be enjoyable and rewarding.”   — Julie L.

“I am a Brazilian journalist living in NY. As a communications professional one of the biggest challenges I faced when I moved to the US was the language barrier. All of a sudden what was natural for me—writing emails, letters, articles—became an impossible task. I became very aware of my grammar limitations and my fear of rejection stopped me from trying. For many years I avoided working in anything that would rely on my writing and would always find someone to do the job for me. As a very creative mind, I felt choked. There were so many ideas flowing through my mind and I just couldn’t write them down. That’s when I found Mimi and started weekly writing classes. I cannot thank Mimi enough for helping me to find my voice again. Today I write a blog, manage 3 social media channels, and am in the process of writing 2 books. Writing is no longer a challenge for me, but an exciting way to express myself and share my stories. ”   — Ilana L.

“Mimi is the bee’s knees to work with on writing projects! She offers an excellent balance of laid-back and open-minded sessions with consistent assignments for progress and suggestions for growth. I would highly recommend connecting with her!! She’ll bring out the story in you!”   — Ashley V.

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!

PAYMENT OPTIONS:

Tuition is $225. 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.

• Instructor: Mimi Hayes
  
• Begins Monday, November 4th, 2024
• The class will meet weekly via Zoom on Mondays, 7:00PM Eastern - 9:00 PM Eastern.
  
• Scheduling Note: We will skip the week of November 11th and finish the class on Monday, November 25th.
• Tuition is $225

Contact us HERE if you have any questions about this class.