Writing Co-Lab

Truth is the Arrow, Mercy is the Bow: A DIY Manual for the Construction of Stories author Steve Almond returns with a spirited trifecta of classes to kickstart your writing: Obsession is Your Muse, Desire Placed in Peril, and Doubt & Disequilibrium. Attend all 3 or order ala carte. All sessions will be live and recorded for maximum viewing pleasure.

Brilliant Openings: How to Get the Reader in the Car

Writing’s all fun and games until the rejections start piling up. In this intensive (though informal) workshop, we’ll aim to make sure your stories or essays draw the reader in, rather than leaving them in the dark. We’ll take a second look at your opening pages, as well as the opening pages of works by Cheryl Strayed, Natasha Trethewey, Meg Wolitzer and others, in an effort to understand how they hook readers from word one.

How to Create Unforgettable Characters 

Ever read (or write) a story where the hero or heroine just doesn’t seem to pop? I have. Like a thousand times. This intensive (but fun-filled!) seminar will investigate why some characters leap off the page, while others just sit there. We’ll look at the work of Toni Morrison, Jane Austen, Lorrie Moore, Alicia Erian, and others in an effort to examine all the untapped ways that authors can create layered, multi-dimensional characters. Then we’ll do an in-class exercise to bring the lesson home.

How to Create an Irresistible Narrator

Many a short story, essay, novel, and memoir have gone unpublished because the author fails to create a strong narrator, one who can act as a wise and entertaining guide to the reader. In this class, we’ll examine the work of Sylvia Plath, Joan Didion, Alicia Erian and others in an effort to make sure your next narrator isn’t just strong, but irresistible. We’ll also try an in-class exercise to bring the lesson home.

A Wrinkle in Time: How to Master Chronology

One of the central struggles in storytelling is that human beings are, in essence, time travelers. We live in the past of our memories and the future of our hopes. Thus, when we tell stories, we often shuttle around in time. This can be exciting, but more often it winds up confusing the reader, and (in my case) the writer. In this seminar, we’ll unravel the mysteries of chronology and help writers figure out how to tell their story in a way that thrills their readers.

Suggested companion text: Truth is the Arrow, Mercy is the Bow: A DIY Manual for the Construction of Stories (Zando, April 2024)

About the instructor

Steve Almond is the author of twelve books of fiction and non-fiction including the New York Times bestsellers Candyfreak and Against Football. His first novel, Which Brings Me to You (co-written with Julianna Baggott) was made into way-better-than-he-expected movie starring Lucy Hale and Nat Wolff. His last novel, All the Secrets of the World, is in development for television by 20th Century Fox. His work has appeared in the Best American Short Stories, the Pushcart Prize, Best American Mysteries, and the NYT Magazine. His most recent book, Truth Is the Arrow, Mercy Is the Bow, is about craft, inspiration, and how to keep going at the keyboard. Almond teaches at the Nieman Foundation for Journalism and lives outside Boston with his family and his anxiety.