6 sessions, Wednesdays, September 18 to October 23, 7-9pm

online; 12 students max

sliding scale: $270-720

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Symbols and images deepen stories, allowing you to connect with readers in new ways and to uncover hidden possibilities for your plot and characters. In this generative workshop, we'll explore how writers past and present have used symbols, we'll look for the sources of symbols in our writing--including the spaces characters move in, the objects they use, and the larger patterns in their culture and worlds--and we'll do exercises designed to help you discover and build on the symbols already present in your work.

Enroll in this course.

About the Instructor

Jeanne Thornton is the author of Summer Fun, The Dream of Doctor Bantam, and the forthcoming A/S/L (Soho Press, 2025). She is the coeditor, with Tara Madison Avery, of We're Still Here: An All-Trans Comic Anthology, and the copublisher of Instar Books. Her writing has appeared in Harper's Bazaar, WIRED, n+1, and other places, and she has taught for Tin House, One Story, Writing Co-Lab, and Sackett Street Writers' Workshop. She lives in Brooklyn.

Student Testimonials

"Your class really strengthened me and prepared me to be excited about rewriting/revising this longer work, and that too is a gift I wasn't expecting....You're a fantastic teacher."

"Jeanne did an excellent job of providing steppingstones, and kept the class on topic and focused. I enjoyed the class and felt I learned a lot."

"Really great experience! Class was student-centered, well-organized, and very informative....I learned a lot from Jeanne."