Essay Consultation

Dates: Essays due Monday, February 12th. Individual meetings the week of February 26th.
Time: NA
Cost: $125
Limited to: 12 participants
Where: Imprint Bookstore and Online

Looking for guidance on a complete or in-progress essay? This essay consultation offers just that. I will provide comments throughout your draft (up to 8 pages of a single essay), a letter of feedback on the overall work, and a one-on-one half hour meeting, either in person at Imprint Bookstore or online via Zoom, to discuss my notes as well as help with where and how to pitch your piece for publication.

Please note that this is not a group workshop. Essays are to be submitted by end of day on Monday, October 16th. Works need to be double spaced, in 12 pt. Times New Roman font, and with 1" margins. I will reach out to you shortly after to schedule our individual meeting, which will take place sometime during the week of October 30th.

Finding the Essay within the Experience

Date: Saturday, March 9th
Time: 10:00am to 1:00pm (PST)
Cost: $75
Limited to: 12 participants
Where: Writing Workshops

     “What happened to the writer is not what matters; what matters is the large sense that the writer is able to make of what happened.” – Vivan Gornick

It’s easy to identify the experiences that have shaped us. What’s less easy is figuring out why they’re so important, and it’s that “Why” that turns a moment into a publishable story. We’ll use essays by Sarah Levy, Melissa Febos, and Samantha Irby, among others, as well as prompts to explore what turns an experience into an essay. In this one-day workshop, students will take an experience that speaks to them most and uncover the real, underlying significance of it, shaping it into an essay that will resonate not just with the writer but also with the reader.

COURSE TAKEAWAYS:
  • Learn how to read essays critically to be able to identify what it is the writer is doing to turn what’s happened to them into a story that resonates with readers.
  • Students will leave with an understanding of how to mine their own personal experiences for the essays within them.
  • Students will leave with a solid outline and start (or a fresh angle) on a new work-in-progress.