The Heart and Craft of Writing

If you’ve embarked on the process of writing your first book, there’s a good chance that you’re struggling a bit. Books are big, unwieldy creatures, and even the bravest of among us can feel overwhelmed by the thought of filling all those hundreds of blank pages with intelligent, effervescent words.

Award-winning author, editor and teacher Michelle Tea offers this class to help you believe in your abilities as a writer, stick to your goal and push through that first draft. She’ll outline some of the key tricks to writing a great book and inspire you to produce the vibrant, sparkling and unique work that’s inside your head and waiting to come out.

In this class, you’ll learn how to:

• Be specific and avoid vagueness.
• Bring your five senses to your writing by including sound, light, scent, texture and taste in every scene.
• Find your pacing: write slow, write strong.
• Show, don’t tell.
• Build your unique voice and create a shelf of voices you wish your voice to be in conversation with.
• Keep your editing brain away from your creative brain.

• Class Introduction
• Reading, Listening and Participating
• Community Keeps You Writing
• Don't be Vague and Avoid Cliche
• Using Your Five Senses to Build a World
• Pacing: Write Slow, Write Strong
• Place is a Character
• Shame Will Shut You Down
• VOICE VOICE VOICE
• Editing Brain vs. Creative Brain
• Your Work is None of Your Business
• Writing from Lists
• Quit While You’re Ahead
• The First Fifty
• Prioritize Your Writing. No One Else Will