Cost: $50 Optional Office Hour with me (live via Zoom): +$50

Curious about how I teach? Check out “Shaping the Spiritual.”

Logistics
Self-guided, asynchronous class that you go through with a group. Designed to keep you motivated and moving ahead with your projects, it allows you to access materials on your own schedule. Before it begins, you will receive instructions on how to log on to the course through the online Wet Ink platform. Should they choose to participate, you will also receive written comments on your work from your peers. New lessons will open on 7/1, 7/8, 7/15, 7/22, and 7/29. The course site will close on 8/4, after which you will be sent a zip file of all course materials (written lectures, readings, exercises, discussion questions).

Though the class is without an instructor, for an extra $50 you can join me for one open office hour live via Zoom to discuss your writing on any of these three dates/times (Eastern): Mon., July 8 1-2 p.m., Mon., July 15 3-4 p.m., or Tues., July 23 2-3 p.m.

Description
This class will ask what, if anything, can make nonfiction writing “spiritual.” You will read selections from essays and memoirs in the spiritual writing genre and try composing your own versions of this material. How can we write about something so personal and powerful and share it with an audience of differing beliefs or traditions? How do writers move beyond saccharine sentimentality to illuminate a truth? You will choose a spiritual question or subject to explore in depth by writing two optional 500-word pieces and one article/essay between 1,000 and 3,000 words. The course will provide tips and inspiration for getting started, gathering material, and revising your work for publication. Writers from all backgrounds and faiths are welcome.

Outcomes
·      Form regular writing community and deadlines
·      Explore and identify examples of essays/memoir in spiritual writing to jumpstart process
·      Develop writing approach through exercises, lectures, and discussions
·      Learn constructive peer review practices
·      Gain strategies in revising for publication

Schedule

WEEK 1: SHAPING THE SPIRITUAL

WEEK 2: FRAMING THE “I” IN FAITH (optional office hour #1)

WEEK 3: ENGAGING THE OTHER (optional office hour #2)

WEEK 4: SPEAKING TO YOU (optional office hour #3)

WEEK 5: RE-SEEING AND REPRESENTING YOUR WORK

$50
Optional Office Hour with me (live via Zoom): +$50 Questions? Email me.