Instructor: Terri Linton 
Two hour VIRTUAL sessions on Tuesdays
6:00pm to 8:00pm EST
Workshop is limited to 12 participants
$340

Please note: January sessions are four weeks long. 

Course Description

Our days are filled with happenings that make us feel and awaken contemplations. For nonfiction writers, there’s no shortage of events that deepen our reflection about who we are. As memoirists, we’re beckoned to the page. It’s where we mine our experiences to find meaning and kinship. If successful in the crafting of our stories, we gain greater insight into the whys and hows of our lived experiences. Readers can take comfort in knowing they’re not alone.  

But before the memoir or novel, comes the blog post, article, or essay. In this course, we’ll read essays that center lived experiences; explore how to effectively distill, shape, and draft our stories; and learn how to discover places to pitch personal  essays for online publication.

Course Outline:

Week One: “Mining the Self” - During this session, we’ll examine and discuss the crafting of “the self” in personal essays (essays will be sent to participants prior to the start of the course). Through generative writing prompts, students will begin to identify and develop personal essay ideas.

Week Two: “Pitch It” - Students will learn how to search online sites for publication. They’ll  be instructed on how to craft a pitch before drafting a sample pitch of their own.

Week Three & Four: “What’s Your Story?” - Students will draft and share portions (or a full draft) of a personal essay they’d like to further develop and/or pitch for publication. Students will provide feedback and engage in discussion about each other’s work.

Who Should Take This Class?

Writers who are curious about the pitching process or who want to hone their essays and creative nonfiction for online publication.

Your Instructor

Terri Linton is a mother, writer, and professor. She holds a Bachelor of Arts and Master of Fine Arts degree from Sarah Lawrence College, and a Juris Doctor degree from Rutgers School of Law-Newark. She teaches writing and criminal justice at universities in New York and Connecticut. Terri writes about black girlhood, womanhood, and motherhood as well as disparities in the criminal justice system. She is a 2021 Money for Women/Barbara Deming Memorial Fund nonfiction awardee. Her writing can be found in the anthology SoloMom Stories of Grit, Heart and Humor; Catapult; Ninth Letter; Mothermag; and other online sites.

Testimonials

“Terri brings such precision, poetry and musicality to her descriptions of herself and her relationship to motherhood. Her insights have been both supportive and illuminating.” - Janet Pfeffer

“I have every confidence students lucky enough to study with Terri Linton will walk away enriched and inspired. Terri sees to the heart of motherhood with the same searing writer’s gaze she turns on every human experience, bringing depth of insight, precision of observation and utter compassion to our most painful and joyful moments. As a teacher, Terri will lead students towards their personal version of what she does so well — finding truth through distilled imagery, poetic allusion and musicality on the page.” - Heather Harpham

"Terri’s style of teaching is phenomenal. I’ve taken two classes with her so far, and have benefited from her broad base of knowledge and expertise. She shared numerous readings and prompts with the classes that were instructive and generative. Terri is able to find a balance between sharing her perspective and giving space to the students to share their thoughts and their work. And she creates a supportive space where writers of all backgrounds can express themselves and feel heard. I highly recommend her classes and can’t wait to learn from her again!” —Tara Zafft