3 essay ideas
Writing prompts and readings from my recent seminar + a reminder to join us on Monday for an author salon
We made it again, friends. I’ve been teaching and reading a lot of student work this week and I just want to say: I feel so grateful to be able to do this work right now and for this community. I’ve been thinking a lot about how we can connect even more, reading and writing together, resisting by telling our stories. I really do think it’s what will get us through this. I saw this (via Rebecca Solnit) and thought of you all. Keep connecting and making shit.
Speaking of, a reminder about a very fun event next week:
Priyanka Mattoo, author of the memoir Bird Milk and Mosquito Bones, will join us live for a salon this Monday February 24 at 10am PT/ 1pm ET. This event is for paid subscribers of the newsletter and will be recorded. Link to the virtual event will be sent out Monday morning; feel free to come and go. We’re doing this on Zoom so you can ask questions and interact— it will be relaxed, fun, and super generative, especially for those of you who write memoir. Maybe we’ll try the Substack live thing next time (!?), but I’m not ready yet!
This week’s writing prompt is 3 prompts
As a little treat for every paid subscriber who makes this community possible, I share writing prompts most Fridays. If you want access to this and other prompts, author salons, and weekly recs, you can upgrade your subscription here.
Last week, I taught a seminar on generating essay ideas, and we covered ten different types of essays, alongside prompts and readings— one writer who attended the class already published this great essay on Mrs. Doubtfire!
I’m offering a few of the prompts from that seminar below, along with reading suggestions, for those of you committed to writing against the pull of overwhelm and despair. These prompts will get you going on a few essay ideas— but once you draft the essays, if you get stuck, you can join me April 4 for this class on Detangling the Braid: Revising Essays with Multiple Arcs.
