CW 105 — Write in the New Year: A Generative Writing Course
Quarter: Winter
Instructor(s): Malena Watrous
Date(s): Jan 26—Mar 2
Class Recording Available: No
Class Meeting Day: Mondays
Grade Restriction: NGR only; no credit/letter grade
Class Meeting Time: 5:30—7:00 pm (PT)
Please Note: No class on February 16
Tuition: $325
Refund Deadline: Jan 28
Unit(s): 0
Enrollment Limit: 24
Status: Open
Quarter: Winter
Day: Mondays
Duration: 5 weeks
Time: 5:30—7:00 pm (PT)
Date(s): Jan 26—Mar 2
Unit(s): 0
Tuition: $325
Refund Deadline: Jan 28
Instructor(s): Malena Watrous
Grade Restriction: NGR only; no credit/letter grade
Enrollment Limit: 24
Recording Available: No
Status: Open
Please Note: No class on February 16
If one of your New Year’s resolutions is to stop fantasizing about writing and start putting words on the page, this course is here to help—whether you're brand-new to creative writing, returning after a break, or feeling stuck in a project.
Each session of this generative workshop will begin with a short reading from writers like Robert Olen Butler, Jamaica Kincaid, and Billy Collins, highlighting techniques we’ll explore in timed 10– to 15-minute writing bursts (three per session). You’ll get to experiment with different forms and styles or adapt the prompts to fuel a personal project. After each burst, you’ll be invited to share your work aloud for supportive, constructive feedback.
This is an ideal course for procrastinators, busy people, and anyone held back by perfectionism—because all of our writing happens in class. Your only homework: carry a notebook in which to jot down observations, eavesdrop with purpose, and let your mind wander onto the page. Together, we will form a creative community, ditch the pressure, embrace our creativity, and follow through on that resolution to write!
MALENA WATROUS
Writing Certificate Lead and Creative Writing Coordinator, Stanford Continuing Studies
Malena Watrous is the author of the novel If You Follow Me and co-author of the novel Sparked and the cookbooks My Mexico City Kitchen and Scandinavian from Scratch. She has contributed to The New York Times and the San Francisco Chronicle, among other publications. Watrous was a Stegner Fellow at Stanford and received an MFA from the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, where she was a Truman Capote Fellow. Textbooks for this course:
There are no required textbooks; however, some fee-based online readings may be assigned.