Craft classes in quarantine

There’s a lot to worry about these days (understatement of the year). But one good thing about the whole world being stuck inside is that so many literary events and classes have moved online, making them more accessible. I’ve been fortunate enough to take several craft workshops with some of my favorite authors over the past few months, and I figured I’d share my favorite takeaway from each class with you.

Practical Magic: A Pajama Seminar with Marie-Helene Bertino, hosted by StoryStudio Chicago

This class was all about magical realism, slipstream, surrealism, fabulism—pick your favorite term. The takeaway? Don’t take for granted what certain cultures believe and/or find realistic—the supernatural is often considered very real.

Object Lessons: A Pajama Seminar with Laura van den Berg, hosted by StoryStudio Chicago

I love getting into the nitty-gritty details of storytelling—like objects! They’re obviously in our world, but they can accomplish a lot on the page, too. The takeaway? There’s a difference between a static symbol and a dynamic object. Symbols are surface-level—this equals that. But a dynamic object has levels of metaphor—a mirror, a window, and a refraction all at once.

Revision: A writing seminar with R.O. Kwon

If I could learn to use commas half as well as R.O. Kwon does, I’d be satisfied. The takeaway? Vonnegut said your characters should want something on every page. Kwon would argue that they should want something in every sentence.

On Place: Regional Writing & Home Narrative in Fiction with Kristen Arnett, hosted by Austin Bat Cave

One Thursday night in early July, a few dozen strangers hopped online and had a beer with everyone’s favorite queer literary dad, Kristen Arnett. The takeaway? Home is also a community, a family—and families are flexible. They are destroyed and rebuilt.

Dangerous Satire: A Pajama Seminar with Rion Amilcar Scott, hosted by StoryStudio Chicago

My current work in progress is a satire, so I was especially excited to get some pointers from someone as brilliant as Rion Amilcar Scott. The takeaway? Paraphrasing George Saunders: You have to love something in order to satirize it. If you hate it, then you’re just sneering.

Hopefully I’ll get to do more of these in the future—in the meantime, if you want my full notes from any of these classes, feel free to get in touch. Taking meticulous notes is kind of my thing.