Creative Writing 101
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.
Having never written anything other than required for work or school, I was apprehensive about the process and, frankly, somewhat intimidated. This course appealed equally well to anyone who wants to write-- from the novice to the experienced. I am taking two more!
Linda McDowell
CEO
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 Classes NYC COVID Info
If you show Covid symptoms OR If you have been exposed to someone with Covid – Don’t come to class for at least 5 days after showing symptoms or exposure, and then take a test to confirm that you are negative. Let your teacher know and we’ll work to give you access to your missed classes via Zoom.
If you have any questions about this, you may call (212-974-8377) or email us ([email protected]).
Price
Registration fee $25, paid once per term
6-Week
-
Online
Anytime, week-long sessions
Tuition: $339
-
NYC
In-person
Tuition: $355
-
Zoom
Real-time videoconference
Tuition: $339
-
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
Arlaina Tibensky
Arlaina Tibensky is the author of the novel And Then Things Fall Apart (Simon & Schuster). Her short stories and nonfiction have appeared in One Story, SmokeLong Quarterly, Reckon Review, The Dodge Magazine, Stanchion, Thimble Lit, @TheKeepThings, The Razor, McSweeney's Internet Tendency, Madison Review, The Dinner Party Download, and New Stories from the Midwest, 2018. She has received "The Best of the Net," "Best Small Fictions," and Pushcart nominations for her flash fiction. She holds a BA from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and an MFA in Fiction from Columbia University.
Read moreBritt Gambino
Britt Gambino has published poetry in Armchair/Shotgun, anderbo, The Boiler, decomP, and Springgun Press, and her poem "In Bloom" was featured in an ad for 1-800-Flowers. She has served as a contributing writer at The Sexy Feminist blog and as an Associate Poetry Editor at The Doctor T.J. Eckleberg Review. She has taught at Education Unlimited, Brooklyn Brainery, and 826 NYC. She holds a BA from Drew University and an MFA in Poetry from The New School.
Read moreCleve Lamison
Cleve Lamison is the author of the science fiction novel Full-Blood Half-Breed (Penguin Random House), and he is a contributing writer to Suvudu.com, a science fiction and fantasy blog at Random House. He is consulting producer of the short film Superman Doesn't Steal, which won Best Film at the Diversity In Cannes Short Film Showcase and the A Day In the Sun Film Festival, and was selected by the Cleveland International Film Festival, among many others. He was a staff writer for the television show Craig Ross Jr.’s Monogamy (Urban Movie Channel), and he wrote and directed the feature film Following Bliss, which won Best Feature Film at the Global Arts International Film Festival. His short film "The Story" won the Denver World Film Festival, and his short film "Jack for President" was a runner-up in the New York 24-Hour Filmmaking Contest. He was the artistic director of the BlackBird Theatre Company in NYC; created, wrote, and drew the cartoon strip Rick the Roach for the Richmond News Leader; and is a veteran of the U.S. Army Reserves. He holds a BA from Virginia Commonwealth University.
Read moreElizabeth Cohen
Elizabeth Cohen is the author of the memoir The House On Beartown Road (Random House), the short story collectionThe Hypothetical Girl (Split Oak Press), and the poetry collections The Economist's Daughter (Ecstatic Utterance), What the Trees Said (Split Oak Press), Bird Light, The Patron Saint of Cauliflower (both Saint Julian Press), and Wonder Electric (Kelsay Books). She is also co-author of the nonfiction book The Scalpel and the Silver Bear (Bantam). Her nonfiction and poetry have appeared in Newsweek, People, the New York Times Magazine, and Yale Review, as well as the anthology Walk on the Wild Side. She has taught at SUNY Plattsburgh, Binghamton University, University of New Mexico, the New School for Social Research, and Western Connecticut State University. She holds a BA from University of New Mexico, an MA in Documentary Filmmaking from Temple University, and an MFA in Poetry from Columbia University.
Read moreErica Magrin
Erica Magrin has published short stories and essays in Aphros, Our Town, and Teen Ink, among others. Her play Make Believe was produced and staged at the Bridge Theater and the American Theatre of Actors, and her play Conversion was produced Off-Broadway at Theatre 54. She is an editor at Lamplight Publishing, and has worked for Persea Books, Macmillan Publishers, Disney Publishing, and Simon & Schuster. She holds a BA and an MS in Publishing from Pace University.
Read moreLyndsey Ellis
Lyndsey Ellis is the author of the novel Bone Broth (Hidden Timber Books), and her short fiction has been published in Kweli Journal, Joyland, the Santa Monica Review, Parhelion, the Stockholm Review of Literature, and Orca, A Literary Journal, among many others. Her work has been anthologized in Golden State 2017: Best New Writing from California (Outpost 19 Books), Black in the Middle: An Anthology of the Black Midwest (Belt Publishing), and Crick! Crack!: Poems and Stories by Emerging Writers (The Bonfire Collective). She wrote the Memory Book column for Catapult magazine, blogged at For Harriet, and was fiction editor for The Account: A Journal of Poetry, Prose, and Thought. She has taught for the Loft Literary Center, the California Writers’ Club, Your Words STL, and midnight & indigo. She holds a BA from the University of Missouri-Columbia, and an MFA in Writing from California College of the Arts.
Read moreMarissa Walsh
Marissa Walsh is the author of the picture book One Scoop or Two? And Other Ice Cream Questions (Union Square Books, forthcoming), the YA novel A Field Guide to High School (Delacorte Press), the memoir Girl with Glasses (Simon and Schuster), and the nonfiction book Tipsy in Madras (Penguin). She edited the anthologies Not Like I'm Jealous or Anything (Delacorte Press) and Does this Book Make Me Look Fat? (Clarion Books). She has worked as a literary agent with Fine Print Literary Management and as an editor at Random House. She holds a BA from Smith College.
Read moreMo Krochmal
Mo Krochmal is the executive editor and founder of Social Media News NY. He was a founding producer for the New York Times website, senior editor of GenomeWeb, executive producer of Nassau News Live, and New York editor for TechWeb. He has written for United Press International, the New York Times, the Danbury News-Times, the Wilson Daily Times, and the Washington Daily News. He is the vice president of the New York City chapter of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists. He has facilitated professional communication training at the Courts of the United States, the US Patent and Technology Office, and Health Security Partners in Washington, DC. He has taught at Fairleigh Dickinson University, Hofstra University, Quinnipiac University, and the Graduate School of Journalism at Columbia University. He holds a BA from North Carolina State University and an MS in Journalism from Columbia University.
Read moreOmari Chancellor
Omari Chancellor has published short fiction in Vol. 1 Brooklyn, Brainwxsh, Still Life, and Soft Punk. He wrote and directed the short films The One, which appeared in several film festivals including the Ohio Valley Film Festival, and SwimLessons for The Believer magazine. He has taught at Spotlight Kids NY and the 52nd Street Project. He holds a BFA from Roanoke College and an MFA from New York University.
Read morePamela Harris
Pamela Harris has had TV pilots packaged with 20th Century Fox and others, and served as a staff writer for Life on the Line, a one-hour drama (Oxygen Network). She wrote the feature screenplay Joyville, which was selected for the Writers Lab, a program sponsored by Meryl Streep, Nicole Kidman and Oprah Winfrey, and was a finalist for the WGA/FilmNation Fellowship. She directed and co-wrote a short film, En Route, that screened at many festivals including Soho International, Vermont Music and Film, and Adirondack. Pamela is also an award-winning visual artist and has exhibited extensively. She holds a BFA from the Hartford Art School.
Read moreRadhika Sharma
Radhika Sharma is the author of the novel Mangoes for Monkeys and the short story collection Parikrama, (both Frog Books/Leadstart Publishing). Her short fiction has appeared in the Santa Clara Review and The Fanzine, and her essays, reviews, and articles have appeared in the San Jose Mercury News, the San Francisco Chronicle, the Times of India, the Economic Times, Pacific Time, Perspectives, In the Fray, and the Forum on KQED FM, among many others. She is a former assistant fiction editor for 14Hills literary magazine, and she has taught for San Francisco State University, Milipitas Adult Education, and the Learning Bee. She holds an MFA in Creative Writing from San Francisco State University.
Read moreSalma Zarook
Salma Zarook wrote Salam From Salma, a travel and lifestyle blog, and now writes for Medium. Her essays and poetry have appeared in Pasadena Now and Voiceworks, and one of her short stories won the Australia-wide Write4Fun competition. She has taught for Johns Hopkins University, the New Horizon School LA, the Islamic Center of Southern California, and Five Tuition in Melbourne, Australia. She holds a BA from the University of Melbourne.
Read moreZ Kennedy-Lopez
Z Kennedy-Lopez is the fiction editor of the Atticus Review, and their own fiction and essays have appeared in Catapult, Foglifter, Autostraddle, Have Has Had, Storm Cellar, and A Velvet Giant, among many others. They have taught at the University of California, Davis, Rutgers University-Camden, and the Cooper Street Writing Workshops. They hold a BA from Southern Oregon University, an MA in English from the University of California, Davis, and an MFA in Creative Writing from Rutgers University-Camden.
Read moreis the author of the novel And Then Things Fall Apart (Simon & Schuster). Her short stories and nonfiction have appeared in One Story, SmokeLong Quarterly, Reckon Review, The Dodge Magazine, Stanchion, Thimble Lit, @TheKeepThings, The Razor, McSweeney's Internet Tendency, Madison Review, The Dinner Party Download, and New Stories from the Midwest, 2018. She has received "The Best of the Net," "Best Small Fictions," and Pushcart nominations for her flash fiction. She holds a BA from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and an MFA in Fiction from Columbia University.
has published poetry in Armchair/Shotgun, anderbo, The Boiler, decomP, and Springgun Press, and her poem "In Bloom" was featured in an ad for 1-800-Flowers. She has served as a contributing writer at The Sexy Feminist blog and as an Associate Poetry Editor at The Doctor T.J. Eckleberg Review. She has taught at Education Unlimited, Brooklyn Brainery, and 826 NYC. She holds a BA from Drew University and an MFA in Poetry from The New School.
is the author of the science fiction novel Full-Blood Half-Breed (Penguin Random House), and he is a contributing writer to Suvudu.com, a science fiction and fantasy blog at Random House. He is consulting producer of the short film Superman Doesn't Steal, which won Best Film at the Diversity In Cannes Short Film Showcase and the A Day In the Sun Film Festival, and was selected by the Cleveland International Film Festival, among many others. He was a staff writer for the television show Craig Ross Jr.’s Monogamy (Urban Movie Channel), and he wrote and directed the feature film Following Bliss, which won Best Feature Film at the Global Arts International Film Festival. His short film "The Story" won the Denver World Film Festival, and his short film "Jack for President" was a runner-up in the New York 24-Hour Filmmaking Contest. He was the artistic director of the BlackBird Theatre Company in NYC; created, wrote, and drew the cartoon strip Rick the Roach for the Richmond News Leader; and is a veteran of the U.S. Army Reserves. He holds a BA from Virginia Commonwealth University.
is the author of the memoir The House On Beartown Road (Random House), the short story collectionThe Hypothetical Girl (Split Oak Press), and the poetry collections The Economist's Daughter (Ecstatic Utterance), What the Trees Said (Split Oak Press), Bird Light, The Patron Saint of Cauliflower (both Saint Julian Press), and Wonder Electric (Kelsay Books). She is also co-author of the nonfiction book The Scalpel and the Silver Bear (Bantam). Her nonfiction and poetry have appeared in Newsweek, People, the New York Times Magazine, and Yale Review, as well as the anthology Walk on the Wild Side. She has taught at SUNY Plattsburgh, Binghamton University, University of New Mexico, the New School for Social Research, and Western Connecticut State University. She holds a BA from University of New Mexico, an MA in Documentary Filmmaking from Temple University, and an MFA in Poetry from Columbia University.
has published short stories and essays in Aphros, Our Town, and Teen Ink, among others. Her play Make Believe was produced and staged at the Bridge Theater and the American Theatre of Actors, and her play Conversion was produced Off-Broadway at Theatre 54. She is an editor at Lamplight Publishing, and has worked for Persea Books, Macmillan Publishers, Disney Publishing, and Simon & Schuster. She holds a BA and an MS in Publishing from Pace University.
is the author of the novel Bone Broth (Hidden Timber Books), and her short fiction has been published in Kweli Journal, Joyland, the Santa Monica Review, Parhelion, the Stockholm Review of Literature, and Orca, A Literary Journal, among many others. Her work has been anthologized in Golden State 2017: Best New Writing from California (Outpost 19 Books), Black in the Middle: An Anthology of the Black Midwest (Belt Publishing), and Crick! Crack!: Poems and Stories by Emerging Writers (The Bonfire Collective). She wrote the Memory Book column for Catapult magazine, blogged at For Harriet, and was fiction editor for The Account: A Journal of Poetry, Prose, and Thought. She has taught for the Loft Literary Center, the California Writers’ Club, Your Words STL, and midnight & indigo. She holds a BA from the University of Missouri-Columbia, and an MFA in Writing from California College of the Arts.
is the author of the picture book One Scoop or Two? And Other Ice Cream Questions (Union Square Books, forthcoming), the YA novel A Field Guide to High School (Delacorte Press), the memoir Girl with Glasses (Simon and Schuster), and the nonfiction book Tipsy in Madras (Penguin). She edited the anthologies Not Like I'm Jealous or Anything (Delacorte Press) and Does this Book Make Me Look Fat? (Clarion Books). She has worked as a literary agent with Fine Print Literary Management and as an editor at Random House. She holds a BA from Smith College.
is the executive editor and founder of Social Media News NY. He was a founding producer for the New York Times website, senior editor of GenomeWeb, executive producer of Nassau News Live, and New York editor for TechWeb. He has written for United Press International, the New York Times, the Danbury News-Times, the Wilson Daily Times, and the Washington Daily News. He is the vice president of the New York City chapter of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists. He has facilitated professional communication training at the Courts of the United States, the US Patent and Technology Office, and Health Security Partners in Washington, DC. He has taught at Fairleigh Dickinson University, Hofstra University, Quinnipiac University, and the Graduate School of Journalism at Columbia University. He holds a BA from North Carolina State University and an MS in Journalism from Columbia University.
has published short fiction in Vol. 1 Brooklyn, Brainwxsh, Still Life, and Soft Punk. He wrote and directed the short films The One, which appeared in several film festivals including the Ohio Valley Film Festival, and SwimLessons for The Believer magazine. He has taught at Spotlight Kids NY and the 52nd Street Project. He holds a BFA from Roanoke College and an MFA from New York University.
has had TV pilots packaged with 20th Century Fox and others, and served as a staff writer for Life on the Line, a one-hour drama (Oxygen Network). She wrote the feature screenplay Joyville, which was selected for the Writers Lab, a program sponsored by Meryl Streep, Nicole Kidman and Oprah Winfrey, and was a finalist for the WGA/FilmNation Fellowship. She directed and co-wrote a short film, En Route, that screened at many festivals including Soho International, Vermont Music and Film, and Adirondack. Pamela is also an award-winning visual artist and has exhibited extensively. She holds a BFA from the Hartford Art School.
is the author of the novel Mangoes for Monkeys and the short story collection Parikrama, (both Frog Books/Leadstart Publishing). Her short fiction has appeared in the Santa Clara Review and The Fanzine, and her essays, reviews, and articles have appeared in the San Jose Mercury News, the San Francisco Chronicle, the Times of India, the Economic Times, Pacific Time, Perspectives, In the Fray, and the Forum on KQED FM, among many others. She is a former assistant fiction editor for 14Hills literary magazine, and she has taught for San Francisco State University, Milipitas Adult Education, and the Learning Bee. She holds an MFA in Creative Writing from San Francisco State University.
wrote Salam From Salma, a travel and lifestyle blog, and now writes for Medium. Her essays and poetry have appeared in Pasadena Now and Voiceworks, and one of her short stories won the Australia-wide Write4Fun competition. She has taught for Johns Hopkins University, the New Horizon School LA, the Islamic Center of Southern California, and Five Tuition in Melbourne, Australia. She holds a BA from the University of Melbourne.
is the fiction editor of the Atticus Review, and their own fiction and essays have appeared in Catapult, Foglifter, Autostraddle, Have Has Had, Storm Cellar, and A Velvet Giant, among many others. They have taught at the University of California, Davis, Rutgers University-Camden, and the Cooper Street Writing Workshops. They hold a BA from Southern Oregon University, an MA in English from the University of California, Davis, and an MFA in Creative Writing from Rutgers University-Camden.