What happens each Saturday?

A little structure, some writing company, and time to make something new.

In this monthly generative class, I’ll guide you through writing a new story or essay step by step. Come with an idea or simply the will to write.

We’ll begin with a brief check-in. In February and March, you’ll have a chance to tell us what happened when you returned to the piece you started the previous month.

Before some meetings, I’ll suggest an optional short story, film, or series to read or watch, along with questions to guide you. We’ll take it apart together: where does the trouble begin, how does one event lead to another, and what makes the ending work? Then we’ll try some of those moves in our own writing.

We’ll start with the original Dirty Dancing, using its structure as a model for developing a short story. Other models include Robert Stone’s “Under the Pitons” and Lauren Groff’s “The Midnight Zone.” No advance preparation is required to participate.

Then we’ll turn to a new draft. Short, timed exercises will help you find a subject, a situation, and a way in. A 5- or 10-minute sprint might uncover an opening; a 20- or 25-minute stretch will give you time to deepen a scene, follow a piece of exposition, or see what happens when the initial situation changes.

Between sprints, I’ll offer a little craft guidance and the next prompt. You’ll keep writing rather than stopping to make every sentence right. As the morning goes on, we’ll look for what the piece is moving toward and write our way to an ending—even if you later decide to change it.

We’ll finish by sharing. Anyone who wants to can read about a page aloud. These are fresh drafts, so the emphasis is on listening, noticing what’s alive on the page, and celebrating what we made.

You’ll leave with a rough draft—or the beginnings of one—with a developing beginning, middle, and end, along with a specific plan for returning to it over the next month.