CW 105 — Write in the New Year: Prompts, Play, and Possibility
Quarter: Winter
Instructor(s): Malena Watrous
Date(s): Jan 25—Mar 1
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 15
Tuition: $340
Refund Deadline: Jan 27
Unit(s): 0
Enrollment Limit: 30
Status: Registration opens Nov 30, 8:30 am (PT)
Quarter: Winter
Day: Mondays
Duration: 5 weeks
Time: 5:30—7:00 pm (PT)
Date(s): Jan 25—Mar 1
Unit(s): 0
Tuition: $340
Refund Deadline: Jan 27
Instructor(s): Malena Watrous
Grade Restriction: NGR only; no credit/letter grade
Enrollment Limit: 30
Recording Available: No
Status: Registration opens Nov 30, 8:30 am (PT)
Please Note: No class on February 15
If one of your New Year's resolutions is to stop fantasizing about writing and put words on the page, this course can help, whether you're new to creative writing, returning after a break, or stuck in a project. In this generative course, all writing happens in class, making it a good fit for procrastinators, busy people, and anyone held back by perfectionism. Each session includes about three writing bursts (7 to 20 minutes each), some sparked by brief readings from writers like Robert Olen Butler, Jamaica Kincaid, and Billy Collins, others guided by verbal prompts. You'll experiment with forms and styles, and can adapt any prompt to serve a personal project. You'll share your work in small groups or, if desired, read it aloud. Your only homework: carry a notebook to jot down observations or ideas to explore in class. Together, we'll build a creative community—ditching the pressure, embracing our creativity, and following 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.