Meets: May 23, 2026
Location: Choose live in person 9-12p CT or live on Zoom 1-4p CT / 2-5p ET
Cost: $60
Workshop Overview
In this energetic, generative class, we’ll start with prompts and guided exercises to help us find our story or essay’s most propulsive and immersive beginning, its most compelling voice and characters, and the beating heart of its central conflict.
After a writing sprint to get our beginnings on paper, we’ll break into groups to share and offer encouraging feedback. Next, we’ll work with guided exercises and prompts to write as much of our story’s middle as possible, with a focus on intensifying action and emotional stakes.
We’ll sprint again, then break again into groups to share and encourage each other, with a focus on brainstorming our most satisfying endings.
Writers will leave workshop with the beginning, middle, and end of a story and much of its content, as well as a revision plan to keep up your momentum. This session includes generative writing time, brief opportunities to share, and nuts-and-bolt craft guidance.
Bring your creative energy and ready to write.
Choose Your Session
For our live-in-person morning session, we’ll meet on the west side of Madison, WI. Bring your laptop or notebooks. Light snacks and coffee and seltzer will be provided. This session is limited to 8 students.
For our live-on-Zoom workshop, ready your writing space and brew your favorite beverage. This session is limited to 15 writers.
Writers will:
• Develop a new story or essay on the fly
• Receive guidance focused on swift, immersive storytelling
• Learn revision and polishing techniques to take away
Our workshop includes:
• Generative writing sprints
• Small-group encouragement, feedback, and brainstorming
• Guided exercises and prompts
• Group-wide discussion
Who’s the workshop for?
Experience level: The craft skills we’ll cover in this workshop apply to writers of all experience levels, whether you’ve been writing for a month or decades.
Participants: Limited to 8, to encourage investment in each writer’s work and process. Writers of fiction and memoir are equally welcome.