1 Session, Saturday, September 21st, 12-3pm EST
online, 15 students max
$75
Enroll for this class.
A generative workshop focusing on starting with very little and following intuition and playfulness to create work that surprises even the writer. In this class we will discuss the idea of writing from the uncomfortable place of “not-knowing.” My hope is that we will begin to write during the class, allowing ourselves to feel free to experiment. Students should leave with the belief that the surreal, the strange, can inform a piece of realistic fiction, deepening and complicating the world they are trying to create.
There will be a short introductory lecture. We will read excerpts from a short story Rachel B Glaser, and an excerpt from Barthelme’s essay “Not Knowing” and my own essay “On Writing When I’m Not Inspired.”
We will take time to begin writing either a piece of microfiction or flash, or the beginnings of something longer. This is not a workshop for in-progress work, though I believe that the exercises of free-writing and experimentation will help anyone who is stuck on their current project.
I will briefly discuss the idea of rejecting a plan and allowing a story to take you to possible dead ends, possible insight, and hopefully an image, a character, a moment, a story you could have never planned. There will be a q&a and discussion at the end of the class.
Enroll for this class.
About the Instructor
Richard Mirabella is a writer and civil servant living in upstate New York. His short stories have appeared in Story Magazine, swamp pink, American Short Fiction, wigleaf, and elsewhere. His first novel, Brother & Sister Enter the Forest was a New York Times Editor’s Choice, named a best book of the year by Harper’s Bazaar, and has been nominated for a Lambda Literary Award.
Testimonials from Previous “Finding the Strange” Students
“Richard did a great job focusing on getting out of our heads and getting into the creative by embracing the doubt and diving right in. I very much enjoyed this workshop!” — Meghan C.
“Richard was a great teacher, with lots of plans for the class really well executed. Lots of thoughtful breadcrumbs about both the practice of writing and freeing our writing from the usual constraints. Very thoughtful. Great prompts for the writing exercise, and for once a lot of time to write after interesting discussion. Thank you, Richard!” — Lydia K.
“Fabulous. Took away A LOT. Richard was wonderful.” — Michael D.