Online | Nonfiction | Workshop

8-Week Online Nonfiction Workshop: Building a Writing Career on the Internet

“The universe buries strange jewels deep within us all, and then stands back to see if we can find them,” Elizabeth Gilbert writes in Big Magic, her excellent book on creativity. This class will help you uncover those strange jewels.

It’s easier than you might think to build a career for yourself as a writer. Essays are more relevant than ever, and many online publications are hungry for new content and fresh voices. Writers who build platforms for themselves on social media and the internet can catch the eyes of agents and editors. In this workshop, we will focus on finding your individual voice, crafting effective pitches, and being brave on the page. Michele’s students have been published by numerous publications, including TheAtlantic.com and Refinery29.

Every week, students will be required to complete reading and writing exercises and give feedback on their peers' workshop submissions, but because this class is geared towards the working writer, there are no live meetings, meaning you can complete the work whenever is convenient for you! The majority of the class will take places in the comment sections below the weekly lectures, and weekly deadlines will be enforced for workshop critiques.

CLASS TAKEAWAYS

-intensive peer and instructor feedback on two workshop submissions

-one individual conference with the instructor to discuss your writing style, goals, and areas for improvement

-the support of a nurturing community of writers and readers and the full resources of Catapult's custom-built online classes platform (including dynamic discussion threads and our story editor)

-access to short exercises designed to help you think freely and break through creative blocks

-strategies for building a platform online to help you get published and promote your work

-more confidence as a writer, on and off the page! 

Michele Filgate

Michele Filgate’s work has appeared in Longreads; The Washington Post; the Los Angeles Times; The Boston Globe; The Paris Review Daily;Tin House; Gulf Coast; O, The Oprah Magazine; BuzzFeed; Refinery29; and many other publications. She’s a contributing editor at Literary Hub and the editor of What My Mother And I Don’t Talk About, a critically acclaimed anthology published by Simon & Schuster. Michele curates and hosts the Red Ink series at Books are Magic in Brooklyn.

Testimonials

"Michele is the calm soothing voice you want next to you as you burrow into your writing. There is a sensitivity and attentiveness in her critiques- two important qualities that ultimately lead you to finding your way out of the labyrinthine writing process."

former student

"Michele is the kind of woman you meet and think, ‘Wow. She really loves what she does.’ Her passion for writing and teaching writing pervades all aspects of her class. She enthusiastically challenges her students to stop censoring themselves and to explore their writing on a deeper level–the kind of challenging personal writing that means the most in the grand scheme of life. All of us in class were able to share a piece of our individual experiences through writing that we had never shared before."

former student

"Over years of knowing Michele and reading her work, I’ve watched her guide countless other voices into the public sphere with professionalism and care. Her enthusiasm for new writing and publishing is rare and inspiring."

Profile Photo Sarah Gerard author of BINARY STAR

"Michele gives such precise and inspired notes on work you’ll think she slipped into your head. She has an encyclopedic knowledge of writers (you’ll likely end up with a delicious stack on your nightstand to keep the well full). She’s gracious, kind, funny, and genuinely cares about her students. I was hesitant to spend the money for her class but it was worth every penny."

former student

"Michele is uniquely talented at guiding writers of all levels and stages of the game into expanding the way they look at their work and develop it towards a goal. She has a brilliant knack for identifying what’s working — and what’s not — within a piece, and guiding students to shape an arc, a character, and a story. I would take a class with her again in a heartbeat."

former student

"Michele is a fantastic mentor who shows patience, humility, and generosity to her students. She’s an enthusiastic champion for all of those ‘am I really a writer?’ writers out there. You’ll leave her class with confidence in your ability and gain many opportunities to get to those necessary next steps in your writing life."

former student