Writing Dynamic Settings: How to Craft Living, Breathing Places

"The word place is both a noun and a verb," says instructor Lauren Krauze. "So while places can function as static locations, they can also be animated with action and movement. Together, we’ll explore how to enliven them, whether we’re writing about a childhood bedroom or a far-off planet.”

In this three-week class, we'll write about place as if it were a character itself, alive with texture, rhythm, and personality. We'll read short pieces by Ursula K. LeGuin and Tommy Orange, who make both fantastical landscapes and shifting, real-world cities feel palpable. Authors Jamaica Kincaid and Etel Adnan will help us understand how to capture a place as it evolves—the changing seascape as a storm moves in, a block of old houses replaced with shiny new condos.

“I’ll introduce key strategies to help you observe, imagine, and describe places,” says Lauren. “Whether you’re detailing an airport terminal's rapidly shifting sights and sounds or depicting a tranquil community garden, I’ll offer you some tools to tap into the rhythm and personality of a place and craft writing that is dynamic and responsive.”

Through in-class and optional at-home writing, students will come away from the class with three starter pieces in a genre of their choice. In all of the pieces, place will be the central focus or, at the very least, the starting point from which the piece unfolds. Participants will be encouraged to share their in-process work with the group and will have the opportunity to receive light feedback.

About The Writing Salon's In-Person Classes

Before your class meets, you'll receive an email from The Writing Salon with more information about your class. If you have any questions about in-person learning, please don't hesitate to reach out to us at hello@writingsalons.com.