Thursdays, April 4th-May 9th, 6:30 – 8:30 pm EST
online, 12 students max
$450
Enroll in this class.
This six-week generative fiction class is intended for those new to fiction or anyone who needs an infusion of energy in their current practice. Over the six weeks, you’ll gain practice in accessing the generative impulse as well as concrete strategies for spotting opportunities in your earliest drafts. I’ll guide you through thoughtfully designed (and fun!) exercises developed to get the ideas you’ve been holding onto out of your head and onto the page — as well as chip away at the blocks that often prevent us from sitting down to write.
A good portion of the live class time is devoted to writing, so you don’t need to worry about finding writing time outside of these hours. These six weeks provide a regular, accountable writing practice during which you’ll build up (or build back up) a writing muscle.
We’ll also devote time to working through any fears or reticence you may have about generating new work so that you can access the magic of writing without the unnecessary and paralyzing preoccupation of where it’s going, if it’s any good, or what it means (yet!). We’ll discuss what makes a scene a scene, plus how to turn your starts into scenes and from there into the building blocks of larger works.
Although we will talk through our process, there’s no workshop or formal work-sharing component in this class. The primary goal here is to strengthen your relationship with starting new work, as well as generating actual pages that can grow into viable projects. This class is best for fiction writers of all levels and forms (short story, novels, flash fiction), and particularly for those who fear a blank page.
Enroll in this class.
About the Instructor
Danielle Lazarin is the author of the short story collection BACK TALK. Her fiction and essays have been published by places such as The Southern Review, Colorado Review, Glimmer Train, The Cut, Catapult’s Don’t Write Alone, and Literary Hub, amongst others. A graduate of Oberlin College’s creative writing program, she received her MFA from the University of Michigan. Her work has been honored by the New York Foundation for the Arts, Hopwood Awards, Millay Colony for the Arts, and The Freya Project. She lives and works in New York.
Testimonials
“My goal with taking Danielle's generative class was to gain strategies for navigating my writing process as I explored fiction for the first time after years of writing nonfiction and poetry. This class fulfilled that goal and provided me with so much more: concrete strategies for widening my material, starting points for conquering a blank page, and—best of all!—a new definition of what counts as "productive" writing. Danielle's philosophies on writing have allowed me to break my own perfectionist roadblocks which, in the past, have prevented me from generating ideas and exploring content I hadn't anticipated. I'm very grateful to Danielle for the impact she has had on both my writing process and my relationship to my work, and I can't recommend her class enough!”
”As a first-time writer I so enjoyed Danielle Lazarin's six-week introduction to generative work, "Building the Writing Muscle." Danielle had us writing on day one with confidence and her guidance throughout providing strategies and techniques for moving forward will be essential to my own development as I continue to build a personal writing practice coming out of this class. I would highly recommend her as an instructor for all writers at any stage in their creative development.”
“Having worked with Danielle for several years both in her classes and one-on-one, I cannot recommend her highly enough as both a teacher and coach. She brings a deep engagement in her own writing life to meet you exactly where you are with empathy, generosity and incisive, practical, results-oriented guidance. She is a master teacher. Working with Danielle has changed my writing life.”
“Being Danielle's student really jump-started my personal writing process. Her unique insights are both focused and holistic; it's her advice for the journey that helps you get to the destination you want. As a teacher, she's earned my trust.”
“Danielle Lazarin is an insightful teacher whose pragmatic and empathetic approach to the practice of writing resonates for both new and more experienced writers. Working with Danielle I found writing muscles I didn’t know I had, and a fresh perspective on how letting the mind find its way to new ideas and getting out of one’s own way may be two of the most powerful tools in the writer’s toolbox.”