Starts on Sunday, March 1st, 2026

Class will meet weekly via Google Meet on Sundays, 4:00–6:00 PM GMT / 11:00 AM–1:00 PM EST

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Instructor Bio

Instructor Sophia Hembeck is a writer, visual artist & cultural critic. She holds an MFA in creative writing from the University of Arts in Berlin. She has published three books: Things I Have Noticed (2020), Things I Have Loved (2023) & Things That Are Different Now (2025), which comprise lyrical essays and artwork she specifically created for the books. Her work has appeared in off-chance, The Localist, Koralle Magazin, Missy Magazin, Almost Magazin & Culture Vulture. In her weekly substack, The Muse Letter, she wonders about the meanderings of life.

Who is this class for?

This online writing class is for writers of all levels who are interested in the art of the fragmented essay. Whether you're new to nonfiction or looking to expand your formal range, this workshop will help you explore the beauty and complexity of the everyday through the lens of fragmented narrative.

What to expect:

In this six-week creative writing workshop, you'll discover how the fragmented essay form can transform ordinary moments into compelling nonfiction. We'll begin with an introduction to fragmented narrative, examining how disjointed structure can mirror the rhythms of real life and lend power to seemingly small moments.

Through close readings of published works—including excerpts from Sophia Hembeck's own essay collection, Things That Are Different Now, as well as work by Sarah Manguso, Chloé Caldwell, Maggie Nelson, and Lydia Davis—you'll learn how fragmentation allows writers to engage with memory, perception, and the mundane in fresh, experimental ways.

Each week of this online writing class combines mini-lectures on craft with generative writing exercises designed to help you mine your own experiences for material. You'll experiment with juxtaposition, white space, repetition, and sequencing—learning strategies for arranging fragments so they speak to one another and create resonance. The workshop includes weekly sharing sessions where participants can read one piece and receive group feedback, creating a supportive community of nonfiction writers.

This is a space to slow down, notice more deeply, and discover the art hidden in fragments. By the end of the course, you'll have developed a personal practice of attention that turns daily life into raw material for writing, and you'll have produced one or two complete fragmented essays with written feedback from Sophia on your final submission.

What are the writing goals?

In this course, students will generate one or two complete, fragmented essays through guided writing exercises that explore memory, observation, and the texture of the present moment. Participants will receive written feedback on their final essay submission, helping them refine their experimental nonfiction and deepen their understanding of how fragments create meaning.

Readings

Readings may include excerpts from Trying by Chloé Caldwell, On Ongoingness by Sarah Manguso, Bluets by Maggie Nelson, Things That Are Different Now by Sophia Hembeck, and essays by Lydia Davis.

COURSE OUTLINE

Week 1 — Introduction to the Fragmented Essay: Welcome & introduction. Mini-lecture: What is a fragmented essay? Examples & key qualities. Reading: Things That Are Different Now (excerpt). Writing exercise: fragments of time & noticing. Sharing: one piece per writer & group feedback.

Week 2 — Juxtaposition & the Unsayable: Mini-lecture: the power of disjunction, gaps, and white space. Reading: Sarah Manguso, On Ongoingness (excerpt). Writing: exercises in juxtaposition (placing unlike fragments side by side). Sharing: one piece per writer & group feedback.

Week 3 — Memory as Fragment: Mini-lecture: memory, perception, and the fragmentary nature of recall. Reading: Chloé Caldwell, Trying. Writing: memory-based fragments, using sensory anchors and associative leaps. Sharing: one piece per writer & group feedback.

Week 4 — The Everyday & The Mundane: Mini-lecture: writing the ordinary and making it strange. Reading: short works by writers of the everyday (e.g. Lydia Davis, Joan Didion). Writing: fragments built from observations of daily life. Sharing: one piece per writer & group feedback.

Week 5 — Sequencing Fragments: Mini-lecture: shaping the fragment—order, repetition, resonance. Reading: an essay that models sequencing (e.g. Maggie Nelson or Jenny Boully). Writing: assemble fragments into a sequence or draft essay. Workshop: rearranging and experimenting with structure. Sharing: one piece per writer & group feedback.

Week 6 — Gathering the Fragments: Short lecture: the fragment as practice beyond the course. Group sharing session: each participant reads a short piece from their portfolio. Reflection: what fragmentation has opened in your writing. Closing thoughts & goodbye.

COURSE TAKEAWAYS:

• Understand the fragmented essay form and gain familiarity with its history, possibilities, and how disjointed structures can mirror memory, perception, and the rhythms of everyday life
• Read with a writer's eye and develop skills in close reading published essays to see how fragmentation creates meaning, mood, and resonance
• Generate original fragments and produce a collection of short, experimental pieces drawn from memory, observation, and the present moment
• Experiment with form and structure by learning strategies for arranging fragments through juxtaposition, white space, repetition, and sequencing so that fragments speak to one another
• Develop a personal practice of noticing and cultivate habits of attention that turn the mundane into material, sharpening your ability to mine daily life for writing
• Share and refine work in community through optional workshop sharing, gaining confidence in presenting experimental nonfiction while supporting peers

ONLINE COURSE STRUCTURE:

• Instructor: Sophia Hembeck
• Begins Sunday, March 1, 2026
• Class will meet weekly via Google Meet on Sundays, 4:00–6:00 PM GMT / 11:00 AM–1:00 PM EST
• Tuition is $445 USD