Writers are often asked, “Where do you get your ideas?” The answer is usually some version of this: “All around me.” We draw upon current events, personal memories and family anecdotes, and weird news from all sorts of media for our storytelling material. It’s an impulse that comes naturally, to hear a story on the news and think, “I should write about that.” The best writers know how to turn those random, unexpected pieces of inspiration into fully developed essays, stories, and novels. This class will teach students to observe reality with the eyes of a journalist and imagination of a fiction writer in order to translate facts and events into riveting stories in any genre.

Students will be sent several published pieces to read in advance of the class and should bring them with them. The goal of the course is to take facts, details, and anecdotes and learn how to turn them into fully-realized stories.

TAKE THIS CLASS IF

You’re writing fiction in any genre.
You’re starting a new project
You’re finding the factual constraints of your potential story too limiting.