Online | Loft Literary Center

Love writing across genres? Or want a nudge outside of your writing comfort zone? Over six weeks, we'll jump into the major genres of fiction writing—sci-fi, fantasy, mystery, horror, romance, historical—using mentor texts to guide our own writing. We'll learn about tropes, practice writing classic genre moments, and generate a short piece of work each week, which the instructor will give feedback on. All writings can be found online; links will be provided.

In Person | Great Smokies Writing Program

Breaking down the publishing landscape into three sectors, this course focuses on the logistics, best approaches, and necessary materials for landing your work at literary and entertainment magazines, independent and university presses, and traditional and hybrid publishers. Students should arrive to class with three different materials prepared: (1) a polished draft of a short-form piece (poem, short story, essay), (2) an idea of a nonfiction short-form piece to be pitched (you don’t have to be a CNF writer, you just need an idea), and (3) the first page of a long-form piece (this includes the first page of a collection). Each student will leave with drafts of cover letters, short-form pitches, query letters, and long-form proposals (including author bios) that can be used as templates going forward.

Online | Loft Literary Center

There are two primary forms of book review, and in this session, we'll study and practice writing both! Short-term book reviews focus on distilling down the reading, making it bite-sized; long-form book reviews focus on expanding the reading out into other topics: current events, another book, history, etc.

We'll study these forms, looking at their logistics and possible publications as well as aspects of craft and generating, writing, and getting feedback on that writing.

Online | Loft Literary Center

The publishing process can be confusing and intimidating, but it doesn't have to be. Each published writer goes through the same process; somewhere along the way, they just asked for help. That's what this class aims to do: help you take the next step with your manuscript with confidence.

The day will start with an overview of the publishing process and how to find an agent, along with a discussion on what makes a query letter successful. We'll get into the weeds, talking about everything you should be sure to cover (or avoid).

We'll break for food. When we come back, we'll talk about what makes a first page successful—you'll have time to work on yours—and discuss what happens after you land an agent. We'll end the day with a Q&A.

In-Person | Flatiron Writers Room

This single session will focus on the first page of a student's work, whether it be long-form (novels, memoirs, etc.) or short-form (short story, essay, etc.). Using three different best-selling works as mentor texts, we'll study how to incorporate tension, motivation, and voice into your work. Students will have the opportunity to share and receive feedback on their work from fellow students.