Deeply Personal: Writing First-Person Essays on Raw and Difficult Topics
This class is now sold out, but we will offer a new session as soon as there are enough students on the advance wait list.
Email academy@narrartively.com to join an advance waiting list for the next session and we’ll make sure you’re the first to know next time it’s offered.
Cost: $395
Class Size Limit: 10
Personal essays are among the most popular, impactful and widely shared types of writing being published today. Great personal essays can set the web on fire and resonate with readers around the world. They’re also among the hardest things to write. Penning personal essays involves digging deep to access intimate parts of yourself, peel away the layers and explore what aspects of your story will connect with others. Instructor Caroline Rothstein, an internationally touring and award-winning journalist, writer, spoken word poet, documentary filmmaker and performer, has published personal essays about having and recovering from a decade-long eating disorder; body image; anxiety, depression and mental health; sexual assault; consent; the death of loved ones; identity; antisemitism and white supremacy; bikini waxing; sexuality; and more. In this intensive five-week workshop, students will learn how to craft compelling personal essays about the experiences that matter most to them. Each week, we’ll review and discuss unique examples of published personal essays that tackle difficult topics; dive deep into one component of what makes a personal essay sing; and review drafts of two students’ essays.
All students enrolling should have at least a rough draft of a personal essay (up to 2,500 words) ready to share by the class start date. This is a workshop-based class and all students are required to read and critique two peers’ essays each week.
This is the right class for you if…
You’ve started writing personal essays about difficult experiences and want guidance on how to edit and finish them in a way that will resonate with readers.
You crave a careful, compassionate environment where you can workshop your writing with peers.
You want to develop techniques that will help you get your personal essays published in top outlets.
After this class you’ll be ready to…
Effectively revise your own work and submit your personal essays for publication.
This five-week workshop takes place on Tuesdays from 7pm to 8:30pm ET. Class starts on May 20 and ends on June 17. All Narratively Academy classes are conducted online and accessible to students anywhere in the world. This class will be recorded and shared with all enrolled students in case there are specific sessions you have to miss, but live attendance and participation at a majority of the live sessions is required.
Instructor Bio: Caroline Rothstein is an internationally touring writer, poet, performer, educator, documentary filmmaker and producer. Her work has appeared in Narratively, Cosmopolitan, Marie Claire, The Guardian, BuzzFeed, Nylon, The ABA Journal, Williams Magazine, The Forward, Hey Alma and many other publications. Caroline and her work have been featured widely including in The New Yorker, MTV News, The Chicago Tribune, CBS Evening News, BuzzFeed News, HuffPost, Mic and Newsweek. She tours year-round performing spoken word poetry; public speaking; facilitating workshops; and teaching at colleges, schools, performance venues, summer camps and community organizations worldwide. She self-publishes a bi-weekly nonfiction series on her website called “my word(s),” and is currently co-writing a musical about elder millennials and technology, co-authoring a romance novel and developing her second autobiographical one-woman play, among several other writing, poetry, performance, audio and film projects.
“Caroline is a caring and compassionate instructor for such deeply personal material. Her energy and passion are infectious! I really appreciate the small, intimate size of this class.” —Barbara Joy Laffey, former student in this class.
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Registration Details: Seats in this class are limited and available on a first-come, first-serve basis. Prior to the start of your class you’ll receive an invitation to access the virtual classroom and view all class materials.
Cancellation Policy:
Full refund when canceling 7 or more days before the class start date.
50% refund when canceling less than 7 days before the class start date.
No cancellations after the class start date.
Questions? Email us at academy@narratively.com.
More: Check out all of our Narratively Academy online writing classes here.