Begins Sunday, April 12th, 2026

Class will meet weekly via Zoom on Sundays, 12:00 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. EST

🌍 Class Times by Time Zone: Los Angeles (PST): 9:00 AM – 10:30 AM / Chicago (CST): 11:00 AM – 12:30 PM / New York (EST): 12:00 PM – 1:30 PM / London (GMT): 5:00 PM – 6:30 PM / Berlin (CET): 6:00 PM – 7:30 PM

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

Instructor Jess McHugh is an award-winning journalist and author whose work has appeared across a variety of national and international publications, including The New York Times, The Washington Post, TIME, New York Magazine, The Atlantic, The Guardian, The New Republic, The Paris Review online, and The Nation. Her acclaimed non-fiction book, Americanon, was published by Penguin Random-House in 2021, and her forthcoming book, Beg, Borrow, Scam, will be published by Simon and Schuster.

Who is this class for?

This online writing workshop is for nonfiction and fiction writers interested in sharpening their skills when writing about people. Whether you want to craft compelling profiles, develop memorable characters, or bring real individuals to life on the page, this course will help you hone your craft. It is open to all levels.

What to expect:

This creative writing course delves into the craft of writing about people, teaching the skills necessary for creating vivid portraits of individuals dead or alive, famous or not, friend or stranger, real or imagined. People are the foundation of any narrative: whether a novel, a work of journalism, or a memoir. Learning how to write characters with empathy and ethics is a skill that can be applied to almost any area of study.

Through a blend of theoretical understanding and practical application, students will develop the ability to produce engaging and accurate narratives about individuals, whether living, historical, or fictional.

The material and discussions will emphasize ethical guidelines for writing about people, covering topics such as informed consent, privacy, and the range of subjectivity and objectivity—especially when writing about controversial public figures or lesser-known private figures representing a larger societal issue. 

This writing workshop will also dig into the relationship between the writer and the subject, challenging students to ask: Who has the right to tell which story? And how can we make someone feel alive on the page?

Students can expect in-depth feedback on writing assignments from Jess McHugh, as well as workshop input from fellow writers.

By the end of the course, students will emerge as adept storytellers with a deep grounding in the skills to bring their characters to life.

What are the writing goals?

In this course, students will complete three different character exercises designed to flex various narrative muscles, as well as one full-length profile or character-driven piece. Students will receive in-depth feedback on their writing assignments from the instructor, along with thoughtful workshop input from their fellow writers.

Readings

Readings may include excerpts from: Taffy Brodesser-Akner, "Tonya Harding Would Like Her Apology Now"; Sheila Heti, "How Should a Person Be?" (excerpt); Janet Malcolm, "The Journalist and the Murderer"; Lane DeGregory, "The Girl in the Window"; Mike Spies, "A Graveyard, and a Caretaker, for Victims of the Pulse Massacre"; Virginia Woolf, Orlando (excerpt); Vivian Gornick, Fierce Attachments (excerpt); Gay Talese, "Frank Sinatra Has a Cold"; Lillian Ross, "The Moods of Ernest Hemingway"; James Agee, "Let Us Now Praise Famous Men"; J. Anthony Lukas, "Common Ground: A Turbulent Decade in the Lives of Three American Families"; Jill Lepore, "The Strange and Twisted Life of Frankenstein"; Mary Shelley, Frankenstein (excerpt); James Baldwin, Giovanni's Room (excerpt); Eve Babitz, Eve's Hollywood (excerpt).

COURSE OUTLINE

Week 1: Introduction to Writing About People

Focus: Introduction to the course; what it means to portray a person truthfully or imaginatively, why character development is crucial even in works of writing that are plot-driven.

Week 2: Learning to See

Focus: How specificity makes people come alive on the page. This week focuses on observation, "sticky details," and character voice.

Week 3: Research and the Real

Focus: How to research people—living, dead, or imagined. We'll discuss how to use archives, interviews, and research to deepen characters.

Week 4: Ethics and Empathy

Focus: The moral questions of writing about others. We'll discuss consent and privacy. What do writers owe their subjects?

Week 5: Writing the Self

Focus: Writers are people too! This week we tackle the self as a character. How do we approach writing from the first person using the skills we've learned writing about others? Are all subjects and characters reflections of the self?

Week 6: Structure and Character Arc

Focus: Crafting shape and movement in character-driven narratives. The best characters in novels and subjects of profiles don't just sit there.

Week 7: Writing Toward Social Change

Focus: Synthesizing the personal and the societal—individuals as mirrors of larger truths. The individual as lens of a collective experience or moment in history.

Week 8: Revision and Reflection

Focus: Peer review of final projects. How do we continue to write ethically, imaginatively, and truthfully about people?

COURSE TAKEAWAYS:

• Learn to observe, research, and gather details that bring real or imagined characters vividly to life.
• Apply ethical and empathetic thinking when representing real people or drawing inspiration from life experiences in fiction.
• Hone skills in structuring narrative and using point of view to deepen both character portrayal and overall narrative.
• Produce one polished, character-driven piece: a profile or fictional scene that synthesizes the various skills acquired throughout the course.

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:

🌍 Class Times by Time Zone: Los Angeles (PST): 9:00 AM – 10:30 AM / Chicago (CST): 11:00 AM – 12:30 PM / New York (EST): 12:00 PM – 1:30 PM / London (GMT): 5:00 PM – 6:30 PM / Berlin (CET): 6:00 PM – 7:30 PM