Messier First Drafts: ALL Your Ideas Belong Here, a One-Day Zoom Seminar with Sage Tyrtle on Saturday, January 16th, 2027
Begins Saturday, January 16, 2027
Live Seminar via Zoom from 11:00 AM – 1:00 PM ET
🌍 Class Times by Time Zone: Los Angeles (PST): 8:00 AM – 10:00 AM / Chicago (CST): 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM / New York (EST): 11:00 AM – 1:00 PM / London (GMT): 4:00 PM – 6:00 PM / Berlin (CET): 5:00 PM – 7:00 PM
Now Enrolling! Any questions about this class? Use the Chat Button to talk with us.
Instructor Bio
Instructor Sage Tyrtle writes stories unsettling enough for The Offing, yet NPR let them on air. Included in Best Microfiction, Moth GrandSLAM winner, and Pushcart nominee, they've taught 150+ workshops for Smokelong Quarterly and Clarion West, among others. Their work lives at the intersection of literary craft and, "Wait, did they just say that?"
Who is this class for?
This online writing class is for fiction and nonfiction writers who want to have more fun with their first drafts. Whether you're staring down a blank page or sitting on a draft you're too embarrassed to reread, you'll leave with tools that make first drafts playful and genuinely useful. This creative writing workshop is open to all levels.
What to expect:
Is your first draft so bad you wouldn't show it to your cat? Fantastic. You're doing it right. The sloppier the first draft is, the better the finished draft.
Here's why. Your brain is trying to protect you. It knows you want to write a good story, so it's only letting the "good" ideas through. The problem is that so often your own personal writing genius lives in your OTHER ideas. The weird ones. The ones you've never seen before, or the ones you've seen a hundred times but never with your own awesome slant. Even when a messy draft is full of ideas you'll never use, those ideas lead to fabulous avenues you'd never have explored otherwise.
In this two-hour Zoom writing class, we'll play with strange prompts that lead to the kinds of stories you'd never normally write. We'll work with tools that circumvent that protective part of your brain and get words on the page before your inner critic can object. The solution isn't to write "better." It's to write MESSIER. Sharing is entirely voluntary, and writers who do share can expect positive, gently constructive writing feedback on the work they generate in class.
What are the writing goals?
In this course, students will generate new raw material through a series of in-class prompts designed to bypass self-censorship, and leave with multiple story ideas and beginnings drawn from the ideas they'd normally throw out. Students will practice concrete drafting techniques they can repeat at home on any project, in any genre. Writers who volunteer to share their in-class writing will receive positive and gently constructive verbal feedback from the instructor.
COURSE OUTLINE
Hour 1: How to Get Your Words Past Your Brain's Bouncer — Work with strange, disarming prompts that slip past the protective part of your brain and onto the page, surfacing the weird and unexpected ideas your inner editor has been quietly rejecting.
Hour 2: How to Make Your Messy Draft Work For You — Learn what to do with the mess once you've made it: how to read a chaotic draft for its live wires, follow the strange ideas somewhere useful, and turn raw material into real story beginnings.
COURSE TAKEAWAYS:
- Prompts that lead you in unexpected and new directions
- Tools and techniques to circumvent the part of your brain that doesn't want you to be messy
- Story ideas and beginnings that include your wild and wonderful ideas
- A repeatable drafting process you can use across fiction and nonfiction projects
- A permission structure for writing badly on purpose, so first drafts stop being the thing that stalls you
TESTIMONIALS:
"This was a great class. The pace and structure were excellent. Not too much info, while providing some really solid concepts that I had never heard before."
"One of the best classes I have taken. Clear, usable craft principles. What did I find most valuable? The need for an element of risk -- interior or exterior -- which is important for story impact."
"This class exceeded my expectations. A story worth telling includes risk & emotional extremes but needs balance between positive & negative emotions. Sage got these points across magnificently. Highly recommend."
"Sage is so welcoming and so gentle in her teaching. A lovely experience."
“Loved it!"
"This class exceeded my expectations! Sage was extremely knowledgeable and thoughtful and provided meaningful feedback."
"A lovely atmosphere and a great mix of learning from examples and prompt work. Thanks!”
“It was the perfect, chill way to close out the weekend, and I left with workable drafts and many ideas.”
"I loved the number and quality of the in-class prompts."
"The instructor was lovely, encouraging, ehtusiastic and the information well-chosen, and I appreciated her suggestions for exercises."
“When Sage Tyrtle talks, people don’t just listen. They hang on her every word.” – Toronto Star
“As each of us feels more comfortable, we share intimate moments from our lives. It’s different from the stand-up I tried, because, ultimately, success isn’t dependent on making people laugh.” – Now Magazine
“Thank you for giving us a night to remember. You are a true professional, gifted and talented. Thank you for inspiring us, making us think differently and pushing us to be better communicators. The feedback from all the participants was so positive.” – Wendy Kauffman, Vice President, Brown & Cohen Communications and Public Affairs
“We have received really great feedback, some people saying that this is the best session we have had at our KE retreats, so thank you so much for your engaging presentation!” – Rebecca Phillips Konigs, CAMH
PAYMENT OPTIONS:
Tuition is $99 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: Sage Tyrtle
- Begins Saturday, January 16, 2027
- Live Seminar via Zoom from 11:00 AM – 1:00 PM ET
- Tuition is $99 USD.