Beyond Subtext: The Said, The Unsaid & The Unsayable (Nov 30th-Dec 21st 2023)
Beyond Subtext: The Said, The Unsaid & The Unsayable (Nov 30th-Dec 21st 2023)
Gabriel García Marquez says: “Everyone has three lives: a public life, a private life and a secret life" — the question is, how do we, as writers, mine our darkest layers through a lens of radical empathy in order to fully capture our own motivations in all their depth and complexity? Join Molly Rosen Guy this November through December for a quick and dirty narrative dive into the meaty molten core of dialogue, character, conflict, want versus need and core wounds — all the things that make a propulsive story pop off the page. Each week we'll examine how different writers (Jesmyn Ward, Raven Leilani, Marguerite Duras, Andre Aciman, Kiese Leymon, Margo Steines) approach, sex, love, spirituality, food and more to address deeper issues of longing and belonging, and apply it to your own personal story. You'll be assigned writing exercises designed to excavate the many layers of your complex past from an emotional, spiritual and psychological lens, work your memory muscle from all angles, write over one thousand words a week, and create a brand new set of storytelling tools that will make your writing practice fun, approachable and way less scary than before. You'll also be assigned an Action + Accountability Partner to work with on a weekly basis. Space is limited, first come, first served. No previous experience required.
What you get:
A syllabus featuring essays, writing prompts and reading + listening recs
Weekly optional free writes with Teaching Assistant Misha Sumar
Action Partner + activities each week
Access to a Virtual Creative Community
An invitation to the BWC Google Group, a digital community where you can connect with other students about all things writing-related
One thirty minute Creative Ideation Session with Molly Rosen
Thursdays - 10:00am - 1:00 pm ET
November 30th, December 7th, December 14th, December 21st