Class Description

In this generative class, you’ll be part magician and part craftsperson. On the one hand, I’ll provide you with techniques and writing prompts to help channel your unconscious and obsessions—the magic part. On the other, you’ll learn craft tools that will mold those obsessions into compelling prose. This class will focus mainly on flash fiction and nonfiction and prose poetry. You’ll also try your hand at different styles: a story composed of just one sentence, a voice-driven piece addressed to your former self, a "break-up" poem, and work that innovates with narration, such as a story told by an animal, inanimate object, or house, for starters. This class is designed for beginners—as well as more advanced writers looking for inspiration, out-of-the-box prompts, and a close look at how to adopt craft tools from literary texts. Classes will feature a combination of craft lectures, discussion of assigned reading, and generative writing assignments. There will also be short readings and exercises to complete at home, taking 1-3 hours. You will be encouraged to share work and receive on-the-spot verbal instructor and peer feedback. Two short reading assignments will be emailed prior to the first class. By the course’s end, you’ll have a portfolio of diverse work, a command of craft tools, and a method for combining the magic and madness of writing with the more sober, methodical act of weaving it into something that makes sense. LEONORA DESAR'S writing has appeared in places such as River Styx, Passages North, The Cincinnati Review, Black Warrior Review, and Columbia Journal, where she was chosen as a finalist by Ottessa Moshfegh. Her work has been selected for The Best Small Fictions 2019 and 2021, Best Microfiction 2019, 2020, 2021, and the Wigleaf Top 50 (2019, 2020, 2021). She was a runner-up/finalist in Quarter After Eight’s Robert J. DeMott Short Prose Contest, judged by Stuart Dybek, and Crazyhorse’s Crazyshorts! contest. She holds an MFA in fiction from NYU and an MS from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. WHAT STUDENTS SAY ABOUT LEONORA: "Lenora is thoughtful, astute and insightful, and knowledgeable. She is always extremely well prepared and leads a well structured and interesting class. I'm very impressed."