LIVE, VIRTUAL AND ON-DEMAND WRITING CLASSES
Join our intellectually rigorous and emotionally supportive community!
STORY CATALYST CLASSES
Our writing classes are cataclysmic!
We deliver classes live, virtual and on demand, and we wrap the classes in a dynamic writer community that is intellectually rigorous, vision-powered and emotionally supportive.
All classes include a free membership in the Story Catalyst community on Mighty Networks.
WHAT SETS STORY CATALYST CLASSES APART?
The Story Catalyst community is alive with writers and creatives like you who wish their art to be art and want to finish with excellence.
Story Catalyst members get FREE monthly classes that help them move from idea to outline, from idea to first draft and from revision to publication.
NOT A MEMBER? Sign up for only the classes you want at $47 PER CLASS
Are you registered for one of our 2024 writing retreats — Ireland in June 2024 or Italy in September 2024 — you get these classes free upon registration.
Advance confidently with the skills, vision and talent-infused wisdom of Story Catalyst classes.
SPRING 2024
STORY CATALYST CLASSES
FEBRUARY 2024
HERMIT CRAB ESSAYS
5 p.m. Mountain time Monday, Feb. 5
A STORY CATALYST writing craft class with Jona Kottler
A hermit crab essay is a bit like an actual hermit crab in that it’s an essay that takes on the existing form (as if a shell) of another type of writing.
It can be an excellent way to find a structure for a deeply traumatic or personal topic.
Behold the amazing hermit crab: when it finds itself in need of a new home, it sloughs off its old one and finds something completely different to live in!
Finding an unusual form to contain our writing can lead us to some exciting and unexpected places. We will read a few fantastic examples together and then find some forms—such as a recipe, how-to manual, or school supply list—and use it to tell a story or explore a topic.
march 2024
STORIES AND SONGS
HOW TO USE COMPRESSED NARRATIVE AND RHYMING ACTION TO MAKE YOUR WRITING UNFORGETTABLE
tba Mountain time, date tba
REGISTRATION OPENING SOON
A STORY CATALYST writing craft class with Carolyn Flynn and Karen Leslie
From the creators of the Stories and Songs Writing Retreat in Italy, a mini-class that will give you a taste of what happens in Spannocchia, the magical Italian villa and working farm in the heart of Tuscany.
We all have that one song that’s “our song,” that brings a moment of life into a fully realized moment that gets lived and lived again. How can we bring that to our prose? What do songwriters and lyrical prose writers have in common, and how can we tap into their tools to invigorate our writing?
“Your Story is a Song” adds another layer to the writer’s process by presenting how writing in a compressed, boxed way, for example, in traditional song form, develops “fast-twitch” writing muscles, which the writer can apply to their longer form storytelling and editing process. Why use ten words when you can use the exact right one? In practice, crafting a story into structured song form forces the writer to consider every word on the page. Does it point to the hook? Does it carry nuanced, layered meanings? Does the chorus or refrain resonate more deeply after each verse and stand up to repetition? Is the singular emotional message clear? No more pining, Dear Writer! You can write your story in one page by turning it into a lyric, discard all but the essentials, and master the art of compression, a satisfying and rewarding skill.
Come to this class if you’re wondering what’s missing in a piece you’re working on. Or, come to this class if you love songs and you want permission to have more fun with your writing.
APRIL 2024
‘I CAN JUST TASTE IT’: WICKED-GOOD FOOD WRITING
5 p.m. Mountain time Monday, April 8
REGISTRATION OPENING SOON
A STORY CATALYST writing craft class with Carolyn Flynn
Food is a powerful, simple joy, precisely because it heightens our senses.
This writing class immerses you in the full-sensory experience, with food as your muse.
Whether it’s Haruki Murakami’s stir fry or Maurice Sendak’s chicken soup with rice, writing that brings alive the sense of taste can be unforgettable.
Scenes with food can make the mundane magical. They can be intimate. Or simply mouth-watering.
And I haven’t even mentioned those “short, plump little cakes” those “petites madeleines” in Proust’s “Swann’s Way.”
Taste and memory are intertwined. Voice, artistry and character are intimately tied with the foods we eat, prepare and share.
Come to this class if you want to lift a piece you’re working on to a higher art form.
MORE COMING – FALL 2024
GET ON OUR INTEREST LIST SO YOU’LL BE THE FIRST TO KNOW
REFUND POLICY
While we recognize that life has its disruptions, we have a strict refund policy. We must do this because we commit many hours to prepare the content and materials. In addition, we incur costs to advertise the course.
For this class, no refunds are possible.