Writing from the Body
July 12 and 19 (Sundays), 10am - 12pm Eastern Time
Have you ever wondered what knowledge your body holds that your mind doesn’t -- yet? In this two-part class, we will explore this question together.
In our first week, we will do a close reading of several fiction and nonfiction texts written from a bodily perspective -- covering themes including food, movement, sex, and pain. Together, we will learn about the strategies that writers across genres have used to successfully tap into the body’s point-of-view -- inhabiting the particular ways in which the body perceives sensation, time, and space, so as to bring the fullness and materiality of its experiences into their writing.
In our second week, we will pivot towards generative writing -- while incorporating the theoretical knowledge we gained in week one. I will lead students through a writing ritual designed to help them find the unique voice of their own body -- tapping into its memories and unconscious desires to help it "speak" more clearly. Students will leave equipped with a long-form writing exercise that they can utilize independently, in whichever genre they usually work with (e.g. as part of character design in fiction, or to explore the self more deeply in memoir).
Insider Guide to Lit Mag Submissions
Aug 9 and 16 (Sundays), 10am - 12pm Eastern Time
Want to see your writing published and celebrated, but find the submission process daunting? In this two-part online writing workshop, I will demystify the often-opaque procedure of getting published for you.
In the first session, I will walk you through the submission models used by different styles of lit mags (Submittable-style platforms versus pitching, for example), covering the dos and don'ts for each and explaining the concrete procedures that editorial teams follow when they evaluate your work behind the scenes. Together we’ll do textual analysis exercises to refine submission best practices — from learning how to draft a more eye-catching opening paragraph to figuring out how to structure a pitch so that it earns a "yes" from readers.
In the second session, I will lead an "ask me anything"–style discussion drawn from my years inside the lit mag world, as an editor at both small independent journals and larger, highly structured outfits. There’ll then be a feedback session built around students' writing samples, before we turn to the afterlife of lit mag publication: how to leverage your publications to build the basics of a healthy literary career, including a portfolio of work, in-person readings, and a supportive writing community.
