Flash Essays: Online Writing Class (Jan. 9 - Feb. 12, 2023)
Enrollment for Winter 2023 sessions is now closed. Want to be notified of future classes? Join the email list.
Some experiences beg us to write about them, but we often feel overwhelmed when trying to capture the whole story at once. In this class, we’ll explore the art of flash nonfiction and short essays. Life is made up of moments: big showy ones and small quiet ones—many of them infused with deeper meaning. Sometimes we can easily articulate a moment’s meaning, but often we can only make sense of it peripherally. In a flash essay, the moment and the meaning must be distilled to their purest essence. Through a series of writing exercises, you will generate a list of potential essay ideas and identify key details and imagery to help you dig into the heart of those stories. You will also write several flash pieces of varying lengths.
OVERVIEW
Each week of class includes written lectures, a selection of readings, and discussions of assigned readings and other general writing topics with peers and the instructor. Some weeks also include writing prompts and/or assignments and the opportunity to submit one or more flash essays for instructor and/or peer review.
Note: In order to receive instructor feedback on assignments, students must participate each week in class discussions. This also helps to create a robust community and rich classroom experience for everyone.
CURRICULUM
Week 1: Inspiration (Find Your Flash)
What is a flash essay? More importantly: What makes a flash essay sizzle and spark? This week, we’ll dive into the fray with a brief history of the genre and an exploration of what makes an essay part of the “flash” genre. We’ll read a selection of flash essays to get a taste of the form—and to explore our own aesthetics related to the genre. We’ll kick off the course with writing exercises designed to give you a list of potential “jumping in” points for the essays you’ll write throughout this course (and beyond).
Week 2: Distillation (Follow It Down)
This week we’ll follow the advice of Annie Dillard: “Push it. Examine all things intensely and relentlessly. Probe and search each object in a piece of art; do not leave it, do not course over it, as if it were understood, but instead follow it down until you see it in the mystery of its own specificity and strength.” We will examine a variety of writing craft techniques that can be used to distill a story into the small and powerful space of flash. We’ll look at framing your subject matter, choosing and shading details, and using imagery to support meaning.
Week 3: Exploration (Come at it Sideways)
Beyond length, there is nothing about the flash essay that mandates its form or contents. This week, we’ll look beyond the narrative- and personal-essay forms to other kinds of short works, including lyric essays, “hermit crab” essays, and micro-essays. This exploration of forms will also broaden the way we think about our own memoir-based subject matter by enabling us to come at our work “sideways.”
Week 4: Realization (Make it Burn)
We will discuss techniques to revise and sharpen a flash essay to make it ready for publication. We’ll build upon the last three weeks and dive deeper into the nitty-gritty of how every single decision (from word choice to punctuation) counts in a flash piece.
Week 5: Distribution (Send it Out)
Once you have a flash essay, what do you do with it? And what happens if you end up with a flash essay that wants to become something else? This week we’ll explore sending our work out into the world for publication, as well as how to expand a flash into a longer piece. We’ll look at some publications that feature flash essays and cover the basics of how to submit your work to literary journals. We’ll also discuss if and when it’s a good idea to transform a flash essay into something else, such as a longer essay or a collection of flash-sized pieces.
TECHNICAL INFO
Format: Each week's materials will be posted at the beginning of the week and will remain available for the duration of the class. This is an asynchronous class, which means students can access the materials at their convenience. You won't need to be online at any specific time.
Platform: The class is housed on WetInk, an online learning platform designed for writing classes.
Archive: At the close of class, students will receive a zip file with all class materials, along with a copy of any assignments they submitted and feedback they received.
Questions about the class or how it works?
Email Jenna McGuiggan: jennifer@thewordcellar.com.
REGISTRATION
Enrollment for Winter 2023 sessions is now closed. Want to be notified of future classes? Join the email list.
Refund/Withdrawal Policy: Registrants who cancel their registration or withdraw from the class by 5pm (EST) on January 11, 2023, will receive a refund less a $50 processing fee. To cancel your registration, please email Jenna McGuiggan: jennifer@thewordcellar.com.
INSTRUCTOR: JENNA MCGUIGGAN
Formal Bio:
Jennifer (Jenna) McGuiggan wrote Mister Rogers' Neighbothood: Pieces of Wisdom Jigsaw Puzzle Book (Thunder Bay Press, 2021) and co-authored Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood: A Visual History (Clarkson Potter, 2019). Her essays have been anthologized in Getting to the Truth: The Craft and Practice of Creative Nonfiction (Books by Hippocampus, 2021) and The Orison Anthology (vol. 4, 2019).
Her essays have appeared in The Rappahannock Review, Essay Daily, Flycatcher, New World Writing, online for Prairie Schooner and Brevity, and elsewhere. Her work has been nominated for the Best of the Net Anthology and chosen as a finalist in contests from Prime Number Magazine, Hunger Mountain, and the Orison Anthology.
Jenna received her MFA from Vermont College of Fine Arts. She has been teaching writing online and in-person since 2010. She is currently writing a book of linked essays that explore longing and belonging, from where we live to what we believe.
Informal Bio:
Hello! I'm Jenna McGuiggan, owner of The Word Cellar. I've worked as a professional freelance writer, editor, and creative coach since 2003. I've been teaching online writing classes since 2010. During that time, I've worked with hundreds of students and writers through my classes, coaching sessions, and editorial feedback services. I've taught for organizations such as the Creative Nonfiction Foundation, The Writer's Center, the HippoCamp writing conference, and the Barrelhouse Conversations & Connections conference.
I created this Flash Essays class in 2016 and have taught it more than 40 times through the Creative Nonfiction Foundation. I'm pleased to now bring it to you directly.
I received my MFA in Writing (creative nonficiton) from Vermont College of Fine Arts, and I hold a BA in English. (Learn more about my credentials here.)
My essays and articles have been published in a wide variety of print and online publications. (Learn more about my writing here.)
My teaching philosophy: I think of myself less as a teacher and more as a sharer: one who shares. I've learned a lot about writing and living the writing life through my experience and education. I love to share that with others.
I believe in art for art's sake, in the necessity of beauty, in the power of words, and in the karma of kindness.