Thought Fox offers classes and workshops for writers of all ages and all levels. Check back soon as we add more classes, as well as more robust in-person programming.

Our classes are LGTBQIA+-friendly, anti-racist, and anchored in a disability justice framework; they are open to writers at any stage in their careers, from beginner to established. No one will be turned away for financial reasons. If a course fee is a hardship, please email ThoughtFoxWritersDen@gmail.com

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June

We all want our writing to shine, to stand out to editors, and to be memorable to our readers. We want to write, as James Wood says, “details that.. seem to kill that abstraction with a pull of palpability.” But how do we write these kinds of details? What mindset must we be in, and what strategies can we use to ensure that our writing has that palpability and originality? We’ll explore examples of stunning details that give a reader and editor pause and do guided exercises to develop concrete techniques that will elevate our sentences and make our writing sparkle with that something special.

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Designed for gestational parents, primary caregivers, and/or mother-identifying parents with children age 2 or younger.

This workshop will nourish, support, and encourage poets with infants and babies. We’ll rethink writing goals and concepts around productivity and creativity and celebrate how parenting an infant can enrich (instead of deplete) our creative lives. We’ll study a poem or brief essay by a parent-poet, do a generative writing exercise, and share our work in community with fellow poet-parents.

Parents are welcome to hold, nurse, feed, change, and otherwise care for their babies and young children onscreen, and there will be no expectation for “professionalism” in the Zoom window.

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“Where’s Papa going with that ax?” said Fern to her mother as they were setting the table for breakfast.

“My name was Salmon, like the fish; first name, Susie. I was fourteen when I was murdered on December 6, 1973.”

“You better not never tell nobody but God. It’d kill your mammy.”

Your opening should grab your reader and not let them go.

In this workshop, we’ll discuss revision with an eye toward openings and, in particular, how to begin your narrative with action. We’ll study Kelly Fordon’s short story, “Superman at Hogback Ridge” (PDF provided in advance), with special attention to story structure, and then we’ll apply these learnings to our own work. Come prepared with a screen-shareable first page as well as an openness to feedback and revision.

By the end of our session, you’ll have learned how to identify a strong story hook, and you’ll have crafted a new opening for your work.

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Have a story to tell, but don’t know where to start? Do you take pleasure in finding just the right sentiment for a note to a friend? Do you compose legal briefs while daydreaming of writing romance? Are you curious about what it takes to write a complete story? Are you already a writer and seeking a little inspiration? Whether you write Post-it notes or poetry, this generative workshop is for you. The only preparation you need is a pen and paper (even then, if you forget, we’ll supply). Join this intimate workshop in the cozy Thought Fox Den for guided exercises, light instruction, and lots of inspiration. Get writing while building community.

Make a day of it! Come to the Velvet Mill for the Farmers Market (9 am – noon), have lunch at one of the great dining spots, then come to the Den for some afternoon inspiration—followed by a drink at Beer’d or Rum Tropic.

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Regardless of genre, most writers find themselves on the page in moments of danger, despair, and heartbreak–and those experiences are critical parts of the stories we share. In this exploratory workshop, we’ll face the forces that haunt us, whether it’s the specter of death or the gnawing of hunger pangs. We’ll write about what keeps us up at night, the thoughts that won’t go away, the feelings that linger across seasons. In this one hour workshop, we’ll read examples by other authors, do writing prompts, and discuss how writing can address the horrors of our individual and communal experiences. Together, we’ll anchor our fears in language that will allow us to interact, shape, and journey with them on the page.

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July

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These student-driven, author-led workshops will include craft talks and fun, engaging creative writing exercises with like-minded peers. Each day will focus on a different genre, including short stories, poetry, journaling, playwriting, essay writing, and more, and writers will receive feedback from their instructor and peers. The week will end with a celebration and open-mic for participants to share their work if they wish, with tips on reading their work.

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Coming Soon

Characters are driven by a need–to flee, to achieve love, to reconnect, to understand their past. What makes your characters behave the way they do? As they set out to fulfill their need, what forces create conflict and roadblocks as they strive to achieve their goals? A strong character leaves the reader thinking about them long after the story has ended. We’ll explore how letting a character take charge of a story can break it open. Together, we’ll do close readings, have a robust discussion about characters’ motivations and the momentum they bring to the narrative, and do generative exercises to discover what drives your characters.

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The Little Mermaid sacrifices her tail for a human soul. Gregor Samsa, feeling insignificant, becomes a cockroach. The nymph Daphne turns into a tree to escape lovesick Apollo. Throughout literature, characters transform because they are hungry. They transform because they’re restless, because they’re seeking liberation from domesticity, obscurity, prescribed roles, their own bodies. They transform for fun. As writers, we use transformation to illuminate the raw places inside our protagonists and their worlds. Our characters escape, they devour, they create life—and they discover their true selves by stripping away their known skin. We’ll explore these ideas through craft talk, discussion of sample texts, and in-class writing.

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Short can be deep. Quick can cut to the quick. Short stories can shatter your heart. In this workshop, we’ll break down examples of short prose that packs a punch, investigate what makes them powerful, and apply those elements to our own craft. We’ll do generative writing exercises with the aim of leaving the workshop with a completed flash piece and share our prose (not required).

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“Journal writing is a voyage to the interior.” (Christina Baldwin) A journal is a secret place to share your thoughts, process experiences, interpret dreams, capture memories, make to-do lists, and record the books you’ve read, the wines you’ve tasted, the places you’ve been. Journaling can be therapeutic, inspiring, creative–it can be anything you want it to be. It’s a means through which to discover yourself. We’ll explore a variety of journaling styles (junk journaling, travel log, gratitude journaling, and more) and learn how the practice can make us better writers. We’ll study the journals of creatives like Leonardo da Vinci, Frida Kahlo, and Lynda Barry, then do guided exercises to get our creative juices flowing.

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You’re about to launch a book, or you’re ready to build a platform to begin submitting your manuscript to publishers–congratulations! Now, you need an audience. In today’s saturated world of information, PR and brand building are a crucial part of any writer’s craft. In this interactive workshop, PR pro Allison Hadley will lead you through the basics of developing a platform and public relations strategy for your book, from identifying the newsworthy aspects of your work to crafting pitches and press releases, to cultivating an internet audience. You’ll leave this workshop with the tools you need to make your work stand out.

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Fantasy, sci-fi, mystery, romance, noir. How much–if at all–should we consider genre when crafting our stories? Can we reject the stuffy philosophy that genre writing is not literary (yes!)? We’ll talk about how to mix genres and bend their “rules” to write memorable fiction. Sci-fi romance! Fantasy-noir! Mystery-magical realist-western! We’ll break down our favorite genres and why we love them, and apply those elements to our own craft. And, we’ll read masterful examples, do generative writing exercises, and share our work (not required).

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Testimonials

“I absolutely loved everything about this class. I feel like Lara was extremely organized and was able to use the class time extremely well. I don’t feel like a second was wasted. It was so beautifully structured, and I would love to see other instructors use this similar approach. I loved that it was a mix of teaching about craft, writing craft, and sharing what we wrote. Love, love, love the class and would take any other class with Lara Ehrlich again!”

“I really enjoyed Lara’s class – she handled the topic deftly and encouraged a lot of wonderful discussion. I definitely left with new insights into the role (magic) transformation can play in story.”

“I really enjoyed this workshop, and I particularly enjoyed the depth of experience Lara brought to the class. Her approach to understanding myth and the idea of transformation was really interesting, and her examples were so diverse that the class broadened my idea of what it means to write about transformation. The writing exercises were also really helpful in working through detail-based descriptions of transformation for characters I’m working on. I also really enjoyed how Lara brought an optimistic outlook to the idea of transformation—other people might see the dark or disturbing side of it, but Lara’s examples really brought to light the magic of it and the ability for transformation to bring about happiness or a better life.”