Writing Blind

Writing Blind is really about writing true. Which is to say, it is about forgetting everything you are supposed to write about and tapping your deepest creative source. We will open our first class with a short reading from John McManus, one of today's most promising, young and creative writers. We'll then discuss the basic rules for writing blind and dive into our first exercise. Most exercises will be stream-of-consciousness writing, meaning a student's pen doesn't leave the paper for a given amount of time. We will start small, with one-minute exercises, and build to ten minutes by the end of the last class. Readings will highlight contemporary creative writers, from James Tate to Haruki Murakami. The final exercise in each class will be to construct a "telephone"-style collaboration that we will shape into a story and distribute.