59 Best Essay Creative Writing Classes in 2024

As writers and readers we all bring something different to the page and have our own lens with which we view not only the world, but the media we consume. Learn how to leverage your unique perspective and expertise into a well crafted essay on your favorite media.

Do you have a pile of abandoned story drafts or poems? One quarter of a memoir or novel manuscript that you're still not sure what to do with? In this generative class, we'll act as gardeners, using those old drafts as compost to create fertile ground for new pieces.

In this 2-hour generative writing workshop, we’ll revisit coming of age milestones that our adult-selves can now see with compassion. We’ll read multi-genre excerpts as examples, discuss how writers examine those awkward teen years in literature, and write with guided prompts inspired by the pieces.

In this three-hour workshop, we will approach personal essay through memories and experiences with food. In these essays, you can explore your relationship with particular people or with a gathering or event in your life. We will practice several techniques for connecting with food to craft a satisfying personal essay.

In this one-day workshop, students will read pitch examples - both accepted and rejected - to learn how to craft compelling pitches that will catch an editor’s eye, find the right magazine and how to approach them, how to pitch an idea for an essay not yet written, and more.

In this four-part class we'll explore the art and magic of writing as a healing process in a collaborative and supportive environment. Together, we will share our stories, read a variety of essays and short fiction in order to identify how others have utilized the written word to heal themselves.

Ever dreamt of captivating an audience with your storytelling, condensing your writing into a sharp pitch, or confidently speaking in public? This course is designed for you. Uncover the craft of powerful storytelling using the classic "pity, fear, catharsis" framework and contemporary engagement techniques.

The aim of this class is to open up your writing by embracing this experimentation with form and structure. You’ll learn about the lyric essay—braided, collage, and hermit crab and more.

This workshop is designed for essay writers who are already working on personal essay projects and want to receive feedback in a supportive and constructively critical environment. The class will include workshops of student writing, discussions on the art and craft, and readings of exemplary works in the genre.

Whether you’re working towards a novel or writing short stories, poetry, plays or genre-fluid experiments, this is an opportunity to improve your skills and learn about different literary techniques to help your big ideas come to life.

Writing through heartbreak and loss can provide a tool for discovering the insight lurking beneath the pain. Such writing will stir readers’ emotions, even helping process their own pain. Instructor Andrea Meyer will assign readings and writing exercises to help you tell your darkest, scariest, and most gratifying stories.

Through craft lessons and writing prompts, students will have fun fleshing out their character and story ideas using food as inspiration and leave with delicious new drafts.