This spring, Writers in the Mountains (WIM) presents two online workshops – Micro: The Divine Detail and Modern Love I -led by writer and educator Elizabeth Koster.
Elizabeth Koster’s work has appeared or is forthcoming in Fourth Genre, Split Lip, River Teeth, Hobart, Lost Balloon, Five Minutes, and The New York Times Modern Love column. She holds an MFA in creative nonfiction from Columbia University and has taught creative writing in public schools, nonprofits, and a program for incarcerated women on Rikers Island.
Micro: The Divine Detail
Micro: The Divine Detail, is a six-week editing class, April 8 – May 20, 2025, skipping May 6. The class will be held online Tuesdays, from 11 am to 1 pm ET. Once you register and pay, you will be given instructions on how to join the class.
Vladimir Nabokov told his students: “Caress the detail, the divine detail.” In this class, through a combination of workshop and generative exercises, you will learn self-editing techniques to improve the musicality, specificity, and power of your (short) prose. Learn how to shape your stories, elevate your language, punctuate for emphasis, pare down sentences, and kill those darlings. Whether you write fiction or nonfiction, you will come away with polished work and a greater sense of how to trust yourself and make your words sing.
To register for this class, e-mail [email protected]. To register online, visit writersinthemountains.org. Class fee is $160. Limited to ten students.
Modern Love I
Modern Love I, is a six week-long creative writing workshop. The class will be held online April 10 – May 15, from 12 noon to 2 pm ET. Once you register and pay, you will be given instructions on how to join the class.
In this class you will have the opportunity to complete an essay that you can submit for consideration in The New York Times Modern Love column. Through prompts and exercises, supportive feedback, a study of published essays, and discussions on tips and pitfalls, you will be able to sculpt and hone the story that you need to tell and the world needs to read. Students who have taken this class in the past have found this instructor’s gentle feedback and encouragement tremendously helpful in their work.
As one student put it: “Elizabeth Koster’s Modern Love course was chock-full of inspiration, workshops, and nuts and bolts help. We read examples and discussed what to do, as well as what not to do, in submitting an essay to the New York Times column. Peer and instructor reviews were so beneficial! I’ve developed a network of writing/accountability partners with fellow students in this WIM course. The instruction, students, and feedback far exceeded my expectations.”
To register, e-mail [email protected]. To register online, visit writersinthemountains.org. Class fee is $160. Limited to ten students.
