Creative Writing Class in San Francisco

A four-session creative writing workshop series · Sundays in June · 2 hours each. Starts June 7th at 7pm.

ABOUT THE WORKSHOP

Everyone has a story worth telling. In this four-session workshop, journalist and author Daniel A. Jones guides participants through the entire writing process — from finding your subject to finishing a piece you're proud of. Each Sunday, we'll talk about why storytelling matters, then write, share, and refine. By the end of the month, participants will have a completed or near-complete creative nonfiction piece of up to 2,500 words — something to share with family, submit for publication, or use as the seed of a larger memoir. No writing experience required. Just bring a story and a willingness to tell it honestly.

SESSION STRUCTURE

Session 1 · Sunday, June 7 | FREE — open to all

Why we tell stories

What makes a story worth telling — and worth reading? We explore the real purposes of writing: to process experience, to see your own life more clearly, and to speak to something universal. You'll identify your subject and begin a discovery draft.

→ Leave with: a subject and a discovery draft in progress

Session 2 · Sunday, June 14

Excavating the draft

You've got raw material — now what? We look at how to reread your own work with fresh eyes, find what the piece is really about, and begin shaping it into a polished first draft. Group sharing and response.

→ Leave with: a revised, more focused first draft

Session 3 · Sunday, June 21

Rewriting toward meaning

The real writing is in the rewriting. We work on cutting what doesn't earn its place, deepening what does, and finding the ending your piece has been building toward. Second draft due.

→ Leave with: a second draft ready for final polish

Session 4 · Sunday, June 28

Finishing and sharing

Final session. We do last-pass editing and discuss what it means to share your work — with friends and family, in public readings, or in print. Optional: submit your piece to the Center's newsletter for publication consideration.

→ Leave with: a finished or near-finished piece

PRICING is $60 for the Workshop.

ABOUT THE INSTRUCTOR

Daniel A. Jones is a journalist and author whose nonfiction has appeared in newspapers, magazines, and websites since 2010. His book, Happy Driver, Happy Life, is a humorous self-improvement book teaching how to drive more peacefully and mindfully. He recently shared the stage with one of the most celebrated voices in contemporary nonfiction; in January, he opened for bestselling author and essayist David Sedaris at the Berkeley Repertory Theatre. Daniel lives in San Francisco's Outer Sunset neighborhood, where he writes, teaches, and continues to find the story in the wreckage and the grace of everyday experience.