Creative Writing 101
![Creative Writing 101](http://www.misslija.com/img/courses/creative_101.jpg)
Creative Writing 101 is a 6-week class, which includes a mixture of lectures and exercises. It’s for beginners or anyone who wants a refresher. Farther down, you can view a syllabus for this course.
Are you eager to test the waters of creative writing but not sure where to start, or how? Have you written previously but been away for a while and hope to dip back in?
Here you will be guided surely and safely into the writing life. There’s no pressure to work on a specific project or even settle on which type of creative writing you prefer. The idea is to explore—see with a writer’s eyes, spark ideas to life, gain confidence, and experiment with both fiction and nonfiction.
Creative writing is one of the most fulfilling ways to express yourself, and you’re never too young or too old to give it a try. Come on in. The water’s fine.
![Creative Writing 101](http://www.misslija.com/img/courses/creative_101.jpg)
![](http://www.misslija.com/wp/wp-content/themes/gotham-writers/assets/images/quote.png)
I hadn't written for ages and was really stuck when I tried to start anything. Add to that the external pressures of parenting and my job, and I was beginning to think I would never get around to writing anything at all. This course really focused me and energized me. I now have a story to work on and I feel like writing is finally part of my life again!
Siobhan Wilde
EFL teacher
Notes
This course includes both fiction and nonfiction prose.
The 101 courses do not include workshopping of student projects, but students write and receive feedback on writing exercises and assignments.
Upcoming ClassesNYC COVID Info
More Covid details
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You can still enroll in this class.
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You can still enroll in this class.
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Deal du Jour! Register for $195.00You can still enroll in this class.
Price
Registration fee $25, paid once per term
6-Week
NYC
In-person
Tuition: $335
Zoom
Real-time videoconference
Tuition: $319
Online
Anytime, week-long sessions
Tuition: $319
One-on-One
Tuition: $1,195
Syllabus
This course explores fiction and types of creative nonfiction, and the techniques that go with them. Course components:
Lectures
Writing exercises
New York City/Zoom classes
The syllabus varies from teacher to teacher, term to term. Many topics will be similar to those covered in the Online classes.
Online classes
Week 1
OIL:The importance of having fun with writing. Exploration of the cornerstones of creative writing—observation, imagination, language.
Week 2
Show and Tell:Understanding the difference between showing and telling. Techniques for showing—sensory, specificity, scenes.
Week 3
Individuality:The power of a journal. Writing what you know. Writing what you want to know. Finding your individual voice.
Week 4
Fiction:The types and forms of fiction. Where to find fiction ideas. The basics of creating a story—characters, plot, point of view.
Week 5
Nonfiction:Exploration of three types of creative nonfiction writing—memoir, personal essays, narrative nonfiction. Where to find nonfiction ideas.
Week 6
Getting Better:Good habits. Battling the blank page. Revision. Reading as a writer. Where to go next?
Note: Content may vary among individual classes.
Teachers
Benjamin Obler
Benjamin Obler is the author of the novelJavascotia(Penguin UK). His short stories and essays have appeared inThe Guardian, London Times, Mirror, Electric Literature, Long Reads, Puerto Del Sol, The Junction, Belle Ombre, Qwerty, Sundress, Thirty-Two, Cottonwood,andEvansville Review.He has taught at the Loft Literary Center. He holds a BA from the University of St. Thomas and an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Glasgow.
Read moreCarmen Bugan
Carmen Bugan is the author of the memoirBurying the Typewriter(Picador), the essay collection Poetry and the Language of Opression (Oxford University), and the poetry collectionsTime Being,Lillies from America,Releasing the Porcelain Birds,The House of Straw(all Shearsman Books), andCrossing the Carpathians(Carcanet Press). Her poems and essays have appeared in theIrish Times,Harvard Review,International Literature Quarterly,Nieman Storyboard, and the anthologiesCentres of Catacylsm(Bloodaxe Books),See How I Land(Heaven Tree Press), andPenguin’s Poems for Life(Penguin). She has taught at Grand Valley State University, the University of Fribourg, the Geneva Writers’ Group, and Oxford University. She holds a BA from the University of Michigan, an MA in Creative Writing from Lancaster University, and a Master’s and Ph.D, both in English Literature, from Oxford University.
Read moreCullen Thomas
Cullen Thomas is the author of the memoirBrother One Cell(Viking). His nonfiction has appeared in theNew York Times Magazine,Washington Post,The Daily Beast,Salon,The Rumpus,The Sonora Review,World Hum,Current Biography, andPenthouse. He has appeared on CNN, MSNBC, and the National Geographic channel and has taught at NYU. He holds a BA from Binghamton University.
Read moreJanet Flora
Janet Flora has published nonfiction inYalabusha Review, Willow Review, Forge,and theSanskrit Literary-Arts Magazine. Her short stories have appeared inNew Orleans Review, North Dakota Quarterly, Portland Review,andHawaii Pacific Review.She has taught at NYU and the School of Visual Arts. She holds a BA from City University, Richmond College, and an MFA in Creative Nonfiction from The New School.
Read moreJohn Oliver Hodges
John Oliver Hodges is the author of the novelQuizzleboon(Perpetual Motion Machine Press), the short story collectionThe Love Box(Livingston Press), and the novellaWar of the Crazies(Main Street Rag). His short stories have appeared in appeared inSouthern Cultures Magazine,American Short Fiction, New World Writing,andTexas Review.He has taught at Florida State University, the University of Mississippi, and the Sewanee Young Writers’ Conference. He holds a BA and an MA in Creative Writing from Florida State University, and an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Mississippi.
Read moreMichael Montlack
Michael Montlack is the author of the poetry collectionsCool LimboandDaddy(NYQ Books) and editor of the Lambda Finalist essay anthologyMy Diva: 65 Gay Men on the Women Who Inspire Them(University of Wisconsin Press). His poetry has appeared inNorth American Review, Prairie Schooner, The Offing, Poet Lore, Barrow Street, Court Green,andLos Angeles Review. He holds a BA from Hofstra University, an MFA from the New School, and an MA from San Francisco State University, all in Creative Writing and Literature.
Read moreShahnaz Habib
Shahnaz Habib is the author of the nonfiction bookAirplane Mode(Catapault, forthcoming), and the translator of the novelJasmine Days, for which she and the author Benyamin won the JCB Prize, India's most valuable prize for literature. Her short stories and nonfiction have appeared inThe New Yorkeronline,Creative Nonfiction,Agni,Brevity,The Guardian, andAfar. She has been awarded a New York Foundation for the Arts Artists' Fellowship in Nonfiction Literature, and her work has been cited in theBest American Essaysseries. She holds a BA from Mahatma Gandhi University, an MA in English Literature from the University of Delhi, and an MA in Media Studies from the New School.
Read moreis the author of the novelJavascotia(Penguin UK). His short stories and essays have appeared inThe Guardian, London Times, Mirror, Electric Literature, Long Reads, Puerto Del Sol, The Junction, Belle Ombre, Qwerty, Sundress, Thirty-Two, Cottonwood,andEvansville Review.He has taught at the Loft Literary Center. He holds a BA from the University of St. Thomas and an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Glasgow.
is the author of the memoirBurying the Typewriter(Picador), the essay collectionPoetry and the Language of Opression(Oxford University), and the poetry collectionsTime Being,Lillies from America,Releasing the Porcelain Birds,The House of Straw(all Shearsman Books), andCrossing the Carpathians(Carcanet Press). Her poems and essays have appeared in theIrish Times,Harvard Review,International Literature Quarterly,Nieman Storyboard, and the anthologiesCentres of Catacylsm(Bloodaxe Books),See How I Land(Heaven Tree Press), andPenguin’s Poems for Life(Penguin). She has taught at Grand Valley State University, the University of Fribourg, the Geneva Writers’ Group, and Oxford University. She holds a BA from the University of Michigan, an MA in Creative Writing from Lancaster University, and a Master’s and Ph.D, both in English Literature, from Oxford University.
is the author of the memoirBrother One Cell(Viking). His nonfiction has appeared in theNew York Times Magazine,Washington Post,The Daily Beast,Salon,The Rumpus,The Sonora Review,World Hum,Current Biography, andPenthouse. He has appeared on CNN, MSNBC, and the National Geographic channel and has taught at NYU. He holds a BA from Binghamton University.
has published nonfiction inYalabusha Review, Willow Review, Forge,and theSanskrit Literary-Arts Magazine. Her short stories have appeared inNew Orleans Review, North Dakota Quarterly, Portland Review,andHawaii Pacific Review.She has taught at NYU and the School of Visual Arts. She holds a BA from City University, Richmond College, and an MFA in Creative Nonfiction from The New School.
is the author of the novelQuizzleboon(Perpetual Motion Machine Press), the short story collectionThe Love Box(Livingston Press), and the novellaWar of the Crazies(Main Street Rag). His short stories have appeared in appeared inSouthern Cultures Magazine,American Short Fiction, New World Writing,andTexas Review.He has taught at Florida State University, the University of Mississippi, and the Sewanee Young Writers’ Conference. He holds a BA and an MA in Creative Writing from Florida State University, and an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Mississippi.
is the author of the poetry collectionsCool LimboandDaddy(NYQ Books) and editor of the Lambda Finalist essay anthologyMy Diva: 65 Gay Men on the Women Who Inspire Them(University of Wisconsin Press). His poetry has appeared inNorth American Review, Prairie Schooner, The Offing, Poet Lore, Barrow Street, Court Green,andLos Angeles Review. He holds a BA from Hofstra University, an MFA from the New School, and an MA from San Francisco State University, all in Creative Writing and Literature.
is the author of the nonfiction bookAirplane Mode(Catapault, forthcoming), and the translator of the novelJasmine Days, for which she and the author Benyamin won the JCB Prize, India's most valuable prize for literature. Her short stories and nonfiction have appeared inThe New Yorkeronline,Creative Nonfiction,Agni,Brevity,The Guardian, andAfar. She has been awarded a New York Foundation for the Arts Artists' Fellowship in Nonfiction Literature, and her work has been cited in theBest American Essaysseries. She holds a BA from Mahatma Gandhi University, an MA in English Literature from the University of Delhi, and an MA in Media Studies from the New School.