Creative Writing Workshop

In our Creative Writing Workshop, imagination is welcomed and fostered. However, as our students learn, inspiration is only the beginning – we also make sure girls gain the ability to express themselves in a powerful an elegant way, by exposing them to the technical side of the English language, feedback from a passionate audience, and the simple practice of writing regularly.

Our teachers are young creative writing professionals who are familiar with the classics of poetry and fiction, as well as essential contemporary works. Sylvia Plathe and Franz Kafka share time with Joshua Beckman and Sharon Olds. We believe that a necessary step to becoming a good writer is learning to pay attention to the world around us – frequent field trips and outdoor exercises are an enjoyable and rewarding part of our curriculum.

Emphasis is always placed on the practice of writing, through both free-writing and guided assignments. In poetry, students tackle classic forms like the sonnet alongside contemporary free verse styles. In fiction, our goal is to improve girls’ grasp of plot, setting, and character through reading canonical short stories and focusing on each building block in individual assignments. Students build towards the completion of an entire short story by the end of the class. Workshops help students both give and receive constructive criticism, and, most importantly, encourage girls to improve their work within a supportive community of fellow writers. Our hope is that girls leave our Creative Writing Workshop energized and introduced to new possibilities by appreciating great writing and experiencing the triumphs of their own and their fellow writers’ work.