Write What You Don’t Know: Incorporating Research into Prose

One of the greatest things about writing is that one only needs a pen, paper, and their imagination to do it. But sometimes, looking only within can be a limiting factor in what we can express. This course encourages writers to turn their gaze outward, into the wide world of research, be it through trips to the library, time spent online, interviewing, traveling, and more.

Over six weeks, we will read and discuss prose works that incorporate research in unique ways. Through generative writing and research prompts, participants will begin (or continue) to follow their questions and passions in order to enrich their written work. We’ll conclude with a show-and-tell, in which writers will be able to share some of what they’ve learned, and how they might end up using it.

This course is designed for prose writers—stories, novels, essays, and hybrid work—who are ready to descend the rabbit hole, as well as those who are seeking the just-right factoid to drive their point home and make an impact on readers. We will focus on generating new material or incorporating research into works-in-progress, rather than revising or workshopping finished pieces. Open to writers of all experience levels.

Class goals:
• Read both fiction and narrative non-fiction pieces that employ research, with an eye for how the authors blend personal or creative content with research
• Discuss the infinite forms that research might take in our creative work, and how to incorporate what we learn into our own writing
• Casually share new writing and ideas in a supportive community environment