WRITE IT OFF #2. CLASS DESCRIPTION/TESTIMONIALS FROM MY CLASSES

skip this post unless you're interested in taking an online class or unless you just want to hear people say I am great at teaching an online class

Hi Everyone.

I am teaching again in the fall, starting at the end of September. I will probably teach Monday and Thursday evenings at 7 p.m. Eastern, 4 p.m. Pacific. Please write sarahpetersmiller@gmail.com and put WRITING CLASS in subject to sign up or discuss further.

HERE ARE SOME TESTIMONIALS:

“It was so helpful to have someone take a really critical look at my work and to be deeply honest about where it was falling short, how it could improve. So much of criticism from peers and even instructors can be about preserving your feelings, but Sarah’s feedback isn’t like that. This isn’t to say she’s mean—she’s really funny and great—but that what she cares about above all else is making sure your writing rocks. She’s direct and knows what she’s talking about. My writing improved in her class more than it has in any other.” V.C. NYC.

"As a longtime fan of her writing, Sarah's class absolutely exceeded my expectations. It was interesting, fun, and engaging, and I looked forward to it each week. Sarah's insights and insider tips in class were well worth the price of admission alone, and her generous one-on-one feedback and edits allowed me to uplevel my personal essay in ways I couldn't have anticipated. Highly recommend." H.H. Washington D.C.

“If you are looking for a class that is playful, creatively invigorating, low-stakes but still rigorous, with instruction that manages to be helpful but not overly complicated, take Sarah's. No matter where you are in your relationship to writing, Sarah meets you there. She manages to precisely identify the weak spots of your work without ever making you feel stupid. Would recommend to anyone!” GG, NYC

"I had an unfinished piece of writing that I didn't know what to do with. Sarah helped me figure out what it was, and how to improve it. Her feedback pushed it far beyond what I had imagined for it, in a good way. And the class itself provided an encouraging community of readers and writers who gave my writing generous attention and shared their own works in progress with me. I came away with more confidence to write in a style and voice that previously felt out of reach for me." J.W. “Upstate”

MORE ABOUT THE CLASS

I am more or less teaching the last thing I taught last time, though what I have realized is that every essay is an attempt to “write something off” and if you don’t feel whatever you want to do fits into this category, don’t worry about it. A lot of essays in this class didn’t. But here is the description of the class:

Write it Off

Edit your way to a great and lasting work that’s as perfect as you can make it (and stop obsessing about the thing you wrote your great and lasting work about.)

I have written hundreds of essays for my Substack, The Real Sarah Miller, as well as for The New Yorker website, N +1, Popula, the New York Times, The Awl/Hairpin among others. The essays outside of my Substack best representing my trajectory as a writer are probably Winona Ryder’s Forever Sweater, The Movie Assassin, The Bridge Dog, My So-Karen Life, Desperate for Botox, and Pirates of the Ayahuasca.

The origins of this class — writing and editing an essay to put a problem behind you more or less — are from an experience I had in my 30s. I had a relationship that I behaved badly in. I regretted and felt bad about it. I didn’t know if I’d ever be able to put the bad feelings behind me. I was given an assignment for the book Bitch in the House, edited by Cathi Hanauer. I wrote a draft of an essay. Then I wrote another draft, then another. And telling the story and having to tell the story to other people I was able to understand it myself.

Writing for strangers, rather than just yourself, forces you to be clear, and helps you to be clearer to yourself.

By the time I was done, and the piece was published and out there in the public eye, I had put the issue behind me. I no longer lay awake thinking about it. It didn’t provide the tiresome centerpiece for all my conversations. The guilt and shame I was feeling about my actions and behavior became right sized and the bulk of it disappeared altogether.

I was amazed. I had essentially written away my problem. I didn’t forget what I had done, but I had accepted it and moved on. I have done this in a more minor way many times since, but that essay and Pirates, mentioned above, are probably the most significant examples.

While I’m not against journaling per se and think it can be a good way to see what you’re upset about, I haven’t had a great deal of success with it when it comes to grappling with something and putting it behind you.

What does help: writing a complete essay about the issue and editing it to completion. Completion will mean different things for different people. I’m using it to mean writing something that is as great as it can be, which answers as many questions it asks as it possibly can and acknowledges the questions that might never be answered. Publishing is a nice way to make this official, but that could mean sending your story to friends and loved ones or selling it to a magazine or website.

This class is designed for writers of all levels. Come with something you want to write about and we will figure out how to make it into an essay.

Class time will be spent on some prompts, some discussion of essays we will read together and sharing portions of work with the class.

This class will meet six times for two hours, with a short break. I will read two drafts of your essay, and we will have time on zoom or the phone to discuss it. Essays must be under 3000 words, if they are longer, I will have to talk about an additional fee. There will also be due dates. You need to turn the first draft of your essay in by the third week of class if you want me to read it, and you need to turn your last draft in by the last day. I will have an initial 15-20 minute phone call with each student about what they want to write about, if they want.

People who appreciate rigorous feedback will appreciate this class, but if you want me to be more chill you can let me know and I can probably pull that off. But I think people are more capable and more articulate than they believe themselves to be. My goal is to push students to the edge, not only in terms of writing quality but how honest they are willing to be. I will never be mean though, ha.

The fee for this class is $700. Sliding scale is available, please ask. If you are a student, low-paid freelancer, or generally struggling with money you qualify for the lower end. It’s self-assessed, but please remember that I don’t make a lot of money either. That said, I encourage people to ask for what they need.

Again, put WRITING CLASS in subject if you want to take this class or talk to me about taking it. sarahpetersmiller@gmail.com.

Thank you!