Please note that this is an online workshop conducted via Zoom. Participants will be provided information on how to join the online sessions.
This workshop is full, please sign up on the waiting list here so you receive priority registration the next time this class is offered.
A MICRO MEMOIR / FLASH NONFICTION CREATIVE WRITING WORKSHOP
In this generative creative writing workshop, we will explore the emerging sub-genre of Micro Memoir/Flash Nonfiction (FNF) – a form perfect for when whole seasons fly by in a blink of the eye, but minutes take years to pass. Over the course of eight sessions, we’ll shape and refine our ever-evolving sense of Flash by reading published work, by sharing craft essays on form, and by writing—every week in class—new work of our own. This specific course in FNF will focus on time, pacing, and scale (the sweepingly macro and the intensely micro), while also covering concerns like setting, sensory description, dialogue, character, stakes, and, as we’ll debate and explore, the necessity (or irrelevance) of plot. For those new to FNF, flash prose includes any non-lineated creative writing piece under 750-words (roughly 3 pages double-spaced in standard 12-point font). Tiny but mighty, these pieces build stakes, provoke emotions, and pack the punch of a full-sized piece. Looking at essays (and the occasional prose poem) by Bryan Washington, Melissa Ferrone, Hanif Abdurraqib, Viet Thanh Nguyen, Claudia Rankine, and Jill Talbot, we’ll explore how speed and scope affect our understanding of action and our emotional reactions. Our discussions will segue into writing prompts, ensuring that, no matter how busy your life is outside of Inprint, you will be writing, no matter what. This course is a great fit for those looking to begin or boost a regular writing practice, to explore new forms, and to build an insightful and generous online writing community. Both new and returning FNF students are encouraged to attend – the material covered in this class changes every iteration. The course will include a discussion of the submission process, literary journals, cover letters, and publication.
