Romantic love and heartbreak. Marriage and family strike. Friendship and conflict. Loss and death. In Ethan Gilsdorf’s intensive course, you will learn how to write a short personal essay about a significant and complex event, theme, or relationship in your life. You’ll model your essays after work published in such places as the New York Times ”Modern Love” column, Salon’s “Life Stories,” “Love & Sex” and “Parenting” columns, and Psychology Today’s “Two Minute Memoir,” and literary journals such as The Rumpus and Tin House, with an aim to publish your work there. Via daily exercises, you will develop your toolbox of craft tools which include: narrowing the focus and theme of your personal story; honing in on the main plot and character arc; characterizing yourself and others; writing compelling scenes and seamless passages of reflection and retrospective narration; and moving your narrative through time (aka “time travel”). By the end of this workshop, you will have completed a draft of at least one essay in the 1,000 to 3,000 word range, as well as written several passages (inspired by the exercises) which may be used for your final or other essays. These exercises, as well as a draft of an entire essay, will be shared with the class for feedback. Ethan will also have one email conversation with you in which he will offer suggestions for revision on the final essay. Your short personal essays should also have readers; to that end, Ethan will also offer advice on submitting these essays to literary and commercial publications.