Tuesday March 26th, April 2nd, and April 9th, 7-9pm Eastern Time
Online, 10 Students Max
$150
Enroll in this class.
Our stories stem from our obsessions, often mired in trauma or deep unresolved questions from our past. But it’s usually the case that unsettling, meaningful events are also the most difficult to describe. It takes an unflinching eye and sensibility to write scenes that capture the shock of a moment: the sharp physical details and the out-of-body disassociation that simultaneously occur. In this workshop, we’ll focus on balancing the clinical with the visceral and sensory, examining selected texts by Shirley Jackson, Flannery O’Connor, Paul Bowles, Ira Levin, Fernanda Melchor, and Lindsay Hunter.
Prior to the first session, I’ll email short reading assignments to be discussed when we first meet. In that initial session, we’ll get acquainted with each other and your respective projects, discuss the assigned text, and do a brief write in class based on a related prompt. For the second and third sessions, in addition to reading assignments, you’ll have the opportunity to workshop and receive feedback on your pieces. We’ll delve into the mechanics of writing prose that, while dark and disturbing, illuminates some elemental truth about the complexity of the human condition. We’ll also examine how humor can both relieve and underscore tension (as a foil) in fraught scenes. You’ll leave the workshop with actionable critiques on at least two pieces of writing, and a greater understanding of what makes a dark scene compelling so you can effectively apply that knowledge in your work going forward.
Note: writers who might be triggered by disturbing content should consider carefully whether this workshop is suitable for them.
Enroll in this class.
About the Instructor
Chin-Sun Lee is the author of the debut novel Upcountry (Unnamed Press 2023), listed in Publishers Weekly’s Big Indie Books of Fall 2023 and Debutiful’s Most Anticipated Debut Books of 2023. She’s also a contributor to Let Me Say This: A Dolly Parton Poetry Anthology (Madville Publishing 2023) and the New York Times bestselling anthology Women in Clothes (Blue Rider Press/Penguin 2014). Her work has appeared in Electric Literature, Literary Hub, The Georgia Review,The Rumpus, Joyland, and The Believer Logger, among other publications. She has worked as an educator and moderator for Academic Coaching & Writing, and as a developmental editor for The Reading List Editorial. Learn more about her at www.chinsunlee.com.