Class Description

If you're a writer struggling to focus on your creative projects, seeking community and the support of other writers, or just find it easier to write alongside others also writing, PVWW's once-a-month Community Writing is for you! Sessions are based around an initial writing prompt or series of prompts, and most of the time is spent in quiet, dedicated writing together on Zoom, followed by discussion and (optional) work sharing. Because this is a drop-in friendly event, the size of the gathering changes every time, though it's usually a larger group than our other workshops (though we frequently break into smaller groups to share and discuss). It's also generative in nature, rather than instructive or feedback-centered - so it's great for getting back into the creative flow. Many writers report being inspired by the other participants and those who volunteer to share at the end (either a short paragraph or about their process) as well as having unexpected inspiration come from trying out a prompt they wouldn't have otherwise used. Many writers also join us to work in the company of others on an existing project, and that is also great. Prompts are always optional! Community Writing is always FREE / PAY-WHAT-YOU-WANT, and is open to writers of all levels, genres, backgrounds, experiences. It is a supportive, respectful, and encouraging space, led by Leonora Desar, and occasionally other PVWW instructors. Community Writing is every FIRST FRIDAY of the month, 6 - 7:30 PM ET. LEONORA DESAR's fiction 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. She 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. Her journalism has appeared in Psychology Today, WomansDay.com, Parenting magazine, WomansDay.com, Business Insider, and others. She holds an MFA in fiction from NYU, where she taught creative writing, and an MS from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.