6 Sessions: Sundays, January 24 - February 28
3:00-5:00pm ET
Yanyi

Yanyi has gone through his own share of writing practices that have resulted in two poetry collections, The Year of Blue Water and Dream of the Divided Field. But it's been through his creative advice column, The Reading, and his close mentorship of emerging writers at Warren Wilson College and beyond that he's developed structured guidance for others in developing or resetting their own writing practices.

Open to all genres and writers at any career stage. Please note that this will be a highly interactive class, and that the best experience requires live participation.

What does it mean to have a writing routine? You might imagine Stephen King, clacking away at his two thousand words a day, Maya Angelou working late in one of her hotel writing retreats, or Julia Cameron confidently flying through another notebook of morning pages. Perhaps, for you, your writing doesn't look like a routine at all, and most days you feel overwhelmed with tasks at your day job or what the heck you're going to make for dinner tonight when you get home. This is because writing doesn't just happen—it's a practice that's honed to fit you: the way you think, the way you live, and the reasons why you write. For that reason, whether it's word or line counts, words on the page are often the end, not the beginning, of a larger, cyclical practice. But how do know when a practice right for you? For your project? When is it better for you to research versus generate? How do you find time and space? Should you wait for inspiration? Or can you, should you, find a way to make anyway?

Through generative writing, small-group discussions, and practice-led experiments, we will explore how we write through why we write and vice versa. At the end of this six-session workshop, you will submit a written version of your own writing practice for feedback and come away with a framework for reimagining it for new projects and contexts.

Highlights:

• Instructor feedback on assignments throughout class and on a write-up of your practice developed in the class

• Reflections on your own practice via lectures on the creative cycle and generative writing exercises

• Weekly assignments designed to apply in-class learnings to your actual writing life

This class has 2 full scholarships and 4 partial scholarships. To apply, please fill out this form by Sunday, January 17 and indicate whether you are requesting a full or partial scholarship.