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This 4-month generative nonfiction class will focus on writing new material for those working toward a memoir, essay collection, or other nonfiction.
The class starts on February 5, 2026, Thursday, and will meet every other week until May 28, 2026, Thursday from 4-6:30pm PT / 7-9:30pm ET.
I like to approach generating nonfiction by writing in layers of memory, of truth, and fact. The rigors of nonfiction are tied to working with evidentiary materials, yet within communities that have faced erasure or the pressures of colonization other versions of truth remain. Rather than responding to the pressure of seeking one truth, we will construct nonfiction that acknowledges a variegated strata of truth and the murk and inexact quality of memory. In this course, we will construct drafts that work toward the personal essay, memoir, and the reported piece, by building in layers. We will write the personal in layers of emotion—angry versions versus compassionate versions—write the self and characters along similar lines, and investigate versions of truth by asking how different people in the story might tell of what happened. In this way, we will reach for unexpected lenses and come as close to the truth as we can, and then after the writing is done, we will decide on a place of truth-telling that best serves the story.
Pages generated in this class will remain private to you (though there will be regular share-outs during class). so that you can best write without inhibition.
At the start of the semester, we will create individual plans—word count, page count, or notebook page count—and create goals that we will then be accountable to the group to. We will also look at a general shape of the project you are undertaking. What is the general shape of the memoir that you want to draft? What are its major themes and minor ones? What essays or subject matter are you plunging into, and what might be the scenes/stories populating that work?
I will also give assignments that involve fact-gathering—and these fact-gathering assignments will range from using traditional methods (such as the interview and the counter-interview) and nontraditional methods (such as seeking the truth in unexpected places, and using divining tools).
For this semester, we will write the story as deep and close to the emotion as possible, keeping in mind all the questions of truth in nonfiction, and the malleability of memory and fact. We will also discuss being a secretary to the work, laying plans toward publication, and the more strategic parts of getting your work out there—including seeking agents and awards and fellowships—for all who seek that information.
You can read testimonials from previous students here. If you’re interested in a critique-based workshop, there’s more about the fall term here; if you’re interested in both, you can learn more here.
This 4-month generative nonfiction class will focus on writing new material for those working toward a memoir, essay collection, or other nonfiction.
The class starts on February 5, 2026, Thursday, and will meet every other week until May 28, 2026, Thursday from 4-6:30pm PT / 7-9:30pm ET.
I like to approach generating nonfiction by writing in layers of memory, of truth, and fact. The rigors of nonfiction are tied to working with evidentiary materials, yet within communities that have faced erasure or the pressures of colonization other versions of truth remain. Rather than responding to the pressure of seeking one truth, we will construct nonfiction that acknowledges a variegated strata of truth and the murk and inexact quality of memory. In this course, we will construct drafts that work toward the personal essay, memoir, and the reported piece, by building in layers. We will write the personal in layers of emotion—angry versions versus compassionate versions—write the self and characters along similar lines, and investigate versions of truth by asking how different people in the story might tell of what happened. In this way, we will reach for unexpected lenses and come as close to the truth as we can, and then after the writing is done, we will decide on a place of truth-telling that best serves the story.
Pages generated in this class will remain private to you (though there will be regular share-outs during class). so that you can best write without inhibition.
At the start of the semester, we will create individual plans—word count, page count, or notebook page count—and create goals that we will then be accountable to the group to. We will also look at a general shape of the project you are undertaking. What is the general shape of the memoir that you want to draft? What are its major themes and minor ones? What essays or subject matter are you plunging into, and what might be the scenes/stories populating that work?
I will also give assignments that involve fact-gathering—and these fact-gathering assignments will range from using traditional methods (such as the interview and the counter-interview) and nontraditional methods (such as seeking the truth in unexpected places, and using divining tools).
For this semester, we will write the story as deep and close to the emotion as possible, keeping in mind all the questions of truth in nonfiction, and the malleability of memory and fact. We will also discuss being a secretary to the work, laying plans toward publication, and the more strategic parts of getting your work out there—including seeking agents and awards and fellowships—for all who seek that information.
You can read testimonials from previous students here. If you’re interested in a critique-based workshop, there’s more about the fall term here; if you’re interested in both, you can learn more here.