Mining for Gold: Looking to the Everyday for Creative Inspiration

In this 5-week virtual class, we will use material from our everyday lives as starting points to generate our own creative prose, poetry, or hybrid works. We will look anew at the world and seek inspiration in unexpected places, mining the everyday for artistic leads.

“In this class, students will dust off the dirt and dig deep into their everyday lives to unearth material for creative writing,” says instructor Shelby Hinte, “This is a perfect generative writing class for new writers or anyone in a creative funk. If there is one goal for this class, other than lots of writing, it’s remembering that writing is a joyous act!”

In-class reading of flash fiction and experimental forms will help guide class discussion and serve as the foundation for both in-class and out of class writing. Out of class writing is optional and will be in the form of short, generative works intended to be easily adapted into busy schedules. While not a workshop, students will have multiple opportunities to share and discuss their own writing during class. Additionally, Shelby offers written feedback on student work each week (max word-count 1,200).

"The focus of this course is to generate new material and find creative leads rather than polish final drafts," says Shelby. "By the end of our five weeks together, students will have at least five first drafts of short works as well as a revised creative work."

About The Writing Salon's Online Zoom Classes

You will be able to participate in live class meetings via Zoom videoconference. To attend classes, you'll need a phone, tablet or computer and access to the internet. You can participate in the class from wherever you'd like, whether on your living room couch or in your office. Before your class meets, you'll receive an email from The Writing Salon with more information about Zoom and your remote class. If you have any questions about remote learning, please don't hesitate to reach out to us at hello@writingsalons.com.