6-Week Course | Zero to Chapbook: Fast Draft Your Micro Essay Collection
April 12 @ 2:00 pm - May 17 @ 4:30 pm EDT
Live On Zoom | Saturdays, April 12 – May 17, 2025 | 2 -4:30 pm Eastern
Transform your lived experiences into powerful micro essays—then build them into a chapbook manuscript in just six weeks.
In this dynamic six-week workshop, you’ll move from blank page to chapbook draft through the power of micro-essays (300 words or less). Through targeted prompts and weekly writing sessions, you’ll generate pieces that work both individually and as part of a larger collection. This generative workshop combines craft discussion, example analysis, and structured writing time to help you build a meaningful manuscript.
Each session includes guided writing time, examination of published micro essays, and constructive feedback designed to strengthen both individual pieces and the collection as a whole. You’ll explore techniques for working within constraints while maintaining emotional resonance, discover patterns and themes that emerge naturally in your work, and develop strategies for organizing your pieces into a compelling sequence.
We’ll also discuss next steps: how to revise your draft, identify potential publishing venues, and prepare both individual pieces and your complete manuscript for submission.
Students can expect 1-3 hours of work per week, including reading, writing, and organizing. While an hour per week might suffice, a fuller engagement will require closer to three hours.
Office Hours (Optional): 20-minute slots to discuss your work-in-progress, ask questions about your writing, and figure out next steps.
**Required texts (digital or print):
**Once the course is purchased, a 15% off code for anything at BLP will be included in the confirmation email. The code applies to all items on the BLP site, excluding sale items and subscriptions. At the point this course was made, the books were on sale.
Over these six weeks, you will …
- COMPLETE a chapbook manuscript draft through guided weekly writing sessions and at-home prompts.
- DISCOVER techniques for crafting compelling stories within the 300-word constraint.
- GENERATE 8–15 micro essays through structured writing exercises.
- LEARN to identify patterns and themes that naturally emerge in your work.
- EXPLORE methods for linking individual pieces into a cohesive manuscript.
- DEVELOP strategies for organizing and structuring your chapbook effectively.
- PRACTICE essential revision techniques tailored to micro essays.
- CREATE a sustainable writing routine that fits your schedule.
- UNDERSTAND how to prepare both individual pieces and full manuscripts for submission.
This workshop is for:
- Creative nonfiction writers ready to experiment with compression and form
- Writers who are generating work but struggle to see the bigger picture
- Those who want structure and accountability to complete a manuscript
- Writers interested in exploring the chapbook as a stepping stone to larger projects
- Authors who want to build their publication credits through both individual pieces and collections
- Writers ready to commit to completing a manuscript draft in six weeks
- Writers seeking a supportive environment to take their work from concept to completion
Closed captioning is available. 
Think you might miss a class? No worries, replays will be available.
ABOUT YOUR INSTRUCTOR
DARIEN HSU GEE is an international bestselling author with Penguin Random House and the third Mark Twain Distinguished Writer-in-Residence at the University of Connecticut, following Alexander Chee and Justin Torres. Her work spans multiple genres—from novels translated into eleven languages to award-winning micro prose and poetry collections. She is the executive editor of Nonwhite and Woman: 131 Micro Essays on Being in the World (IPPY Silver Award) and author of Allegiance (IPPY Bronze Award), Other Small Histories (Poetry Society of America Chapbook Fellowship Award), and Writing the Hawai’i Memoir (Ka Palapala Poʻokela Award of Excellence).
A recipient of a Sustainable Arts Foundation grant and Vermont Studio Center fellowship, Darien teaches creative nonfiction at UCLA Extension and Hugo House, and offers specialized micro prose workshops through her teaching platform, Writer-ish. Her dedication to literary arts extends to her service on various boards including Short Reads, an online literary magazine, and the Hawaiʻi Island Leadership Council for the Hawaiʻi Community Foundation.
Student Testimonials:
“Wow! Darien Hsu Gee is amazing! She shared a huge amount of valuable content in this workshop, chunked and organized in a way that we could understand. The info was drawn from her extensive knowledge and experience on the subject of micro memoirs, and I feel lucky to have learned from her.”—UCLAx Writers’ Program student
“Darien is so skilled at providing inspiring (and somewhat unexpected) prompts while also cramming in TONS of useful information about writing practice, skill building, etc. She is an incredible instructor!”—Hugo House student
“Darien exceeded my expectations. I’ve taken a few other flash workshops and this was the most practical in terms of getting down to writing short narrative pieces.”—CRAFT TALKS student
“Darien opened a portal for me. She was so encouraging and inspiring, as well as open in answering questions. I loved every minute and will definitely take another course from her!”—Writer-ish student
“Darien made me want to run home and immediately write! That doesn’t happen very often.”—UCLAx Writers’ Program student
THE FINE PRINT
We understand that life can get in the way of your plans. We want you to be able to get the most out of your course, and our refund policy is designed to balance your need for flexibility with our deadlines and obligations to our teachers.
Before the first class, you may request a refund (less a $25 processing fee).
After class begins, you may request a refund for the remaining value of the course (less a $25 processing fee).
No refunds will be available after the third class.
Questions? Please email Info@craft-talks.com