Class Meets Tuesday, April 18th & 25th, 2023

Class will meet twice on Tuesday nights via Zoom, 7PM - 9PM EST

Open to All writers!

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

Taught by Blaise Allysen Kearsley, a Black-biracial writer and teacher based in Brooklyn. Her writing has appeared in Catapult, Longreads, the Boston Globe, Electric Literature's The Nervous Breakdown, Elle, Midnight Breakfast, The Weeklings, and in the anthologies Mortified: Real Words. Real People. Real Pathetic, Nonwhite and Woman, and Cringe: Teenage Diaries, Journals, Notes, Letters, Poems, And Abandoned Rock Operas. Blaise is a contributing editor at Vestal Review, the oldest flash fiction journal on the planet.

A compressed and adapted version of the 6-week Flash workshop, this serves as a deep-dive intro or a generative practice for those who have already dabbled in flash form.

What is flash and why write it? What can we convey in a 500-1000 word story that we could—or perhaps couldn't—say in a 12-page piece and how do we say it? What are the most crucial elements in the art and craft of flash? How does the super-short form benefit our writing practice, our storytelling, and our relationship to our intended audience?

This two-week intensive is open to both fiction and creative nonfiction writers.

COURSE TAKEAWAYS:

• Understanding of the flash fiction form and its potential for impactful storytelling.
• Knowledge of the key elements necessary for effective flash fiction writing.
• Skill in using economy of language to convey a complete narrative in a limited word count.
• Practice in writing super-short narratives, both fiction and creative nonfiction.
• Exploration of the unique benefits of flash fiction for writers, including improving their writing practice, storytelling ability, and connection to their audience.
• Exposure to a wide range of flash fiction styles and techniques.
• Opportunity for in-depth discussion and critique of classmates’ work.
• Development of confidence in writing flash fiction and incorporating it into your writing repertoire.

TAKE THIS CLASS IF:

• You want to write flash with more feeling and intensity.
• You're finding the constraints of your current writing practice too limiting.
• You want exposure to a range of new approaches to bring to your writing practice.
  
• You want an expanded sense of what is possible in your work in 2023 and beyond!

TESTIMONIALS:

"I love the readings we do, and especially that they so often feature writers of color. The written feedback from you is always so helpful and in-depth. The prompts helped me to develop a lot of content. I always look forward to workshop nights -- it's a safe space to share."

"I felt so often in college, that I was writing against these very confident men who were forthcoming about the problems within my work and style. Working in your group has been restorative and has allowed me to trust myself without fear of being torn apart."

"Working with Blaise has made me a more confident writer. She's helped me to see my writing as a larger work, and creates a safe, inclusive, encouraging space to share and connect with other writers."

"Blaise is such a skilled reader and editor, and her notes are always valuable. She offers wonderful perspectives, and assembles groups of writers with keen perspectives of their own."

"I really loved the class. You treat every question with such a genuine desire to give the best possible answer and it made me happy every time. I admire that you focus on building people up. For someone like me, that means the world."

"During quarantine I had to show up for myself and others who counted on me, even when I felt like all I wanted to do was hide under my couch. Being part of this creative group of writers saved me."

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!

• Instructor: Blaise Allysen Kearsley
  

• Class Meets Tuesday, April 18th & 25th, 2023

• Course is fully ONLINE.

Instructor Blaise Allysen Kearsley is a Black-biracial writer and teacher based in Brooklyn. She comes from a long line of teachers, builders, visual artists, and writers. Her writing has appeared in Longreads, the Boston Globe, Electric Literature's The Nervous Breakdown, Elle, Midnight Breakfast, The Weeklings, and in the anthologies Mortified: Real Words. Real People. Real Pathetic. (Simon Spotlight Entertainment) and Cringe: Teenage Diaries, Journals, Notes, Letters, Poems, And Abandoned Rock Operas (Crown Archetype). She has essays forthcoming in Catapult and the anthology Nonwhite and Woman in February 2022. She is the creator/producer/host of the How I Learned storytelling series and has performed at The Moth, Literary Death Match, Risk, and The Liar Show. Blaise is a contributing editor at Vestal Review, the oldest flash fiction journal on the planet. Learn more about Blaise here.