Led by Leila Renee, who earned her MFA in Creative Writing from Syracuse University. Leila has published stories and essays in outlets like McSweeney’s, Prairie Schooner, Columbia Journal, The Offing, Electric Literature, and more. Her fiction has been selected for inclusion in Best Microfiction 2023 and Leila received the 2021 Gulf Coast Prize in Fiction, the 2022 Shirley Jackson Prize and has received support from the Fulbright program and Tin House.

Just started writing and want more practice? Been writing for a while and crave a spark of inspiration? Fall somewhere in between? In this multigenre generative workshop, you will be guided through a range of fun, dynamic and craft-based in-class writing exercises designed to unlock your creativity, boost your confidence and practice an array of creative writing skills. For example, we will write fresh metaphors, persona poems, dialogue, character sketches, story openings and much more.

Poets, fiction writers and creative nonfiction writers of all levels are welcome in this generative class, which will be a supportive environment designed to nurture creativity.

Two-hour class sessions will consist of short readings to spark your creativity and writing prompts based upon these readings. We will respond to prompts, complete writing exercises in real-time, reconvene and share work with the class. Each writer will have the opportunity to share their work. Some exercises will be completed on your own time and brought to class to share.

Together, we will also discuss how to build and sustain a writing practice beyond the class setting. By the end of this class, you will have a notebook full of new work that can be expanded into longer works, revised for publication and/or spark even more inspiration.

Sometimes, we need a little push to get those words onto the page, we need to refresh our writing by thinking outside the box, or we just need to write alongside fellow writers. Writing can be a lonely task, after all.

This class ensures that you will take your writing in a new direction—with supportive guidance every step of the way.

COURSE TAKEAWAYS:

• Expand your craft and learn how to write in diverse styles by completing a series of guided writing exercises.
• Write in real-time (on Zoom) alongside fellow writers. Don't write alone!
• Learn how to sustain and nurture a regular writing practice.
• Gain inspiration for your new or continuing writing projects.
• Practice a diverse variety of poetry, fiction and creative nonfiction writing techniques in a relaxed, supportive environment.
• Obliterate your writer's block. Get inspired!
• Gain the confidence to share your writing with your peers—and build (online) community with these peers.

By the end of the course you will have:

• A notebook (or computer) full of new work, including poems, character sketches, dialogue exercises, meditations, flash fiction and personal reflections.
• A renewed sense of writerly inspiration and confidence that will make you want to sustain your writing practice.
• Ideas for new work.
• The confidence to share your work in a group setting, and the joy of hearing your peers' shared work.

The following is a sample of short texts that we will consult in order to inspire in-class writing exercises:

Poetry:

"Home" - Warsan Shire
"How to Draw a Perfect Circle" - Terrance Hayes
"Lament" - Thom Gunn
"Blue Prelude" - Saeed Jones
"Object Permanence" - Nicole Sealey
"Mock Orange" - Louise Glück

Flash Fiction:

"Sticks" - George Saunders
"The Colonel" - Carolyn Forché
"The Flowers" - Alice Walker
"Deal" - K-Ming Chang
"On Lore" - Tamara Jeree
"Likable" - Deb Olin Unferth
"Reunion" - John Cheever

TESTIMONIALS:

"Leila created an open and safe environment for anyone and everyone. She structured the discussions very well and they were always easy to follow and engaging! I could tell that she always cared a lot about us, inside and outside of class time.”

"Leila was a wonderful, caring, and intelligent instructor. She was always open for us to add more and challenge ideas that she presented and created a strong, welcoming, and safe environment for all of the students.”

“She always wrote and had very good comments on letters and helped the class get to a really good place in both workshops and in their writing. I also thought that Leila was knowledgeable in the writing field and knew many cool authors to share with us.”

“Leila is an excellent instructor who is passionate about writing and wants to help her students as much as she can.”

ONLINE COURSE STRUCTURE: