Our Online Level I workshop is an introduction to the philosophy on which The Writers Studio was founded in 1987 by Pulitzer Prize winning poet, Philip Schultz. Persona writing, a method of borrowing the voice and temperament of accomplished writers, offers writers the imaginative distance and perspective they need to overcome their negative inclinations, their fear of self-exposure and endless doubt. This method also helps writers try on different voices, or personas, to develop narrative and lyric voices to be used as a tool for unlocking one's most intimate and private stories and turning even their most difficult subject matter into inspiration for writing fiction, poetry, and creative non-fiction.

Weekly exercises based on short pieces of published work are turned into assignments designed to introduce students to various literary styles and approaches and broaden their sense of what is possible in their own work. As the student’s understanding of technique deepens so does the clarity and emotional power of the writing. Through written weekly critiques of each student’s work by teachers, students are taught to constructively critique one another's work, a degree of attention nearly unheard of elsewhere. The teacher also leads an optional weekly one-hour typed chat.

All you need to take a class is a computer or tablet with an internet connection. A link to our online classroom is emailed to you after you register, and tech support is available throughout the class.

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"Every week, I presented a new story. Finally something did click, the very thing that’s their specialty at The Writers Studio, emotional content. Before, my work was dead. When I brought in my breakthrough story, I felt I was carrying a weird animal in my bag. It was the first story I sold."

Jennifer Egan, former Writers Studio student, Winner of the 2011 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction

Instructor

Writers Studio Teacher

Hani Khalil

Hani Khalil’s fiction and critical essays have been published in CultureBot, Baraza, Muftah, Arab Stages, and Epiphany. His critical work primarily covers the performance of Arab identity in armed conflict across theatre, music, and film. His short story, “An Edifice of the Imagination” appeared in the Egyptian-American Writers Folio edition of Anomaly. Hani volunteers his time with the New York Public Radio Community Advisory Board, the New York City Bar Association Lawyers Assistance Program, and the New Georgia Project. An attorney by profession, he received his BA from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and his JD from Rutgers University. He lives in Brooklyn and studied with Philip Schultz.

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