Essay Boot Camp: Four Weeks of Serious Study
April 8- May 3
COST: $395
(Early-bird special = $370 if you sign up by February 15th!)
All students enrolled in this session will have access to our private Facebook page, a community center for the class. It’s a place to get to know your fellow classmates and ask questions. Every Monday you’ll see a writing prompt to get your fingers moving. On Wednesdays every student can post the opening paragraph of their essay-in-progress for feedback. And on Thursdays, enjoy a live Video Lesson with one of the instructors! (All videos are recorded and posted on the FB page.)Price includes a full three-step Developmental Edit on an essay of your choice.
THE LESSONS
Week #1: The Structure of Personal Essays
Every essay must reveal two things: an event from the writer’s life and an emotional journey.
Focus topic - Nostalgia Essays
Office Hours Video Lesson - Mining Your Life for Essay Ideas
Week #2: The Reflective Voice
Using the reflective voice in your essay allows you to reveal the deeper truth of your memories.
Focus topic - Relationship Essays
Office Hours Video Lesson - Character development for nonfiction writers
Week #3: Scene Writing for Personal Essays
Scenes are the visceral storytelling moments within your narrative.
Focus topic - Parenting or Childhood Essays
Office Hours Video Lesson - How and Where to Sell Your Personal Essays
Week #4: The Art of Revision
Learn how to build on your first draft and develop the narrative arc.
Focus Topic - Personal Transformation Essays
Office Hours Video Topic - How you craft your words into sentences to showcase your unique voice
HOW WE RUN THE COURSE
The weekend before class starts you will receive an invitation to our private Facebook page, the community center for the class where you can get to know your fellow writers, ask questions, and generate new material with a weekly prompt. Windy and Lisa alternate weeks on the page. Windy runs weeks 1 and 3. Lisa runs weeks 2 and 4.
On Monday we will email you the lesson for the week. We will also post a creative prompt on the FB page to get you writing.
On Wednesday you are welcome to share the first paragraph of your essay-in-progress and receive feedback from the whole group. We will post guidelines on how to give feedback and support your fellow writers.
On Thursdays we have Office Hours. At 11.30 a.m Pacific time Windy or Lisa will be live on the FB page to talk about the topic of the week and answer any questions. Don't worry if you can't make it to Office Hours. All video presentations are recorded and can be viewed anytime during the course.
This is an intensive online course, designed to get words on the page. It's also great fun. We love teaching it!
Registration.
To sign up for this class, please send an email expressing your interest to Lisa at lisa@lisafugard.com. You will receive an invoice and welcome letter within 24 hours. All payments will be processed through PayPal.
Your Writing Instructors
Lisa Fugard
is the author of Skinner’s Drift and 21 Days to Awaken the Writer Within. Her creative work has been published in Story, Outside and other literary magazines, while her many travel articles, essays and book reviews have been published in the New York Times.
Windy Lynn Harris
is the founder of Market Coaching for Creative Writers and the author of Writing & Selling Short Stories & Personal Essays: The Essential Guide to Getting Your Work Published. She’s had over 70 bylines in literary, women’s, and trade magazines across the US and Canada, including The Literary Review, 34th Parallel, and The Sunlight Press. www.windylynnharris.com.