5:30PM - 7:30PM Phoenix MST
Location: zoom (link will be sent to participants prior to class)
What to expect at a glance:
get help breaking out of your writing rut to think outside the box and create work that feels fresh and unique
produce numerous story ideas and drafts
engage in a lively and supportive writing community
receive valuable feedback on your work from a published author and enthusiastic peers
Course Description:
Fantasy, sci-fi, mystery, romance, noir. How much–if at all–should we consider genre when crafting our stories? Can we reject the stuffy philosophy that genre writing is not literary (yes!)? We’ll talk about how to mix genres and bend their “rules” to write memorable fiction. Sci-fi romance! Fantasy-noir! Mystery-magical realist-western! We’ll break down our favorite genres and why we love them, and apply those elements to our own craft. And, we’ll read masterful examples, do generative writing exercises, and share our work.
About your instructor:
Lara Ehrlich embraces and reexamines qualities that in women are often considered monstrous, like selfishness, desire, and ambition. She is the author of Animal Wife, a collection of stories about women’s transformations from girls into wives, mothers, and monsters. Animal Wife won Red Hen Press’s Fiction Award judged by Ann Hood and was published by the press in 2020. Lara's debut novel, Bind Me Tighter Still, is forthcoming in 2025. Lara teaches writing and has led workshops and panels at Bread Loaf Writers Workshop, Yale Writers Workshop and Yale Young Writers Workshop, AWP, and Story Studio Chicago, among others, and she is the host of Writer Mother Monster, a conversation series devoted to dismantling the myth of “having it all” and offering writer-moms solidarity, support, and advice. She is also the founder and director of Thought Fox Writers Den, which builds community and supports writers of all levels with in-person and virtual classes, workshops, coaching, and more. www.LaraEhrlich.com
About our ticket fees:
Your ticket purchase is an investment not only in your voice, but in our literary community. The Virginia G. Piper Center for Creative Writing is dedicated to helping create a sustainable local and national literary arts community. The general rate for our PWS classes is only $25 per hour of instruction. The pay scale is designed in favor of instructors, ensuring that the majority of all ticket sales goes to them. Any additional profit allows us to offer discounts, scholarship seats, and occasionally free educational programs. To inquire about whether or not you are eligible for a discount code, please send an email to: pipercenter.info@asu.edu
