Creative Sparks
A generative writing class for all levels of experience

The purpose of this class is to get inspired, to generate new work, and to have an ongoing conversation with other writers and artists about the creative life. There will be no critiques. Encouragement, inspiration, new ideas, and generating new writing or art — that's what this class is about.

One of the secrets of the writing life — any creative life — is that having a deadline or an assignment really helps. This is just as true for aspiring writers as it is for established writers. Creating something new out of thin air, without any kind of structure, is nearly impossible.

That's what this class provides: a structure for getting some new writing done. For each of the five weeks of this class, your "assignment" will be a theme/prompt/keyword chosen by Christopher Frizzelle, the former editor-in-chief of The Stranger, who will be writing new things on that theme each week too. And we'll all share them! 

In addition to the new writing we'll all be doing, Christopher will bring a fantastic short piece of writing by someone else — writers like Dorothy Parker, Joan Didion, and James Baldwin — to help inspire you, and to show all the different ways a theme may be interpreted.

At the end of these five Monday nights in a row, we'll have an optional in-person event in Seattle on Tuesday, Oct 29, where you will be invited to read aloud anything you wrote in this class from a small stage with a microphone in public. Good practice for writers and artists of all levels. 

Are meetings recorded?

Yes. All Monday night meetings are recorded and emailed out automatically to everyone in the group. So if you miss any of the live meetings, you won't miss anything. 

What materials do I need? 

No materials needed. But sometimes buying notebooks or pencils or your favorite kind of pen can get creative juices flowing.

What will the first week's theme be?

The first week's theme will be emailed to you with your receipt and confirmation.

Is financial assistance available?

Yes. If you would like to join this class but price is a barrier, sponsorship funds are available to help make it possible. Please apply here.

Donations encouraged

Thank you for making this class accessible to people who would not be able to afford it otherwise.

Art

Spendidly illustrated by Kathryn Rathke