Writing Workshops

Close Encounters: Writing Intimacy and Connection with Danielle Lazarin (January 2026)

$545

8 Sessions

Out of stock

Once a week Tuesdays, 7:00 pm EDT - 9:00 pm EDT January 6 to February 24, 2026

Online via Zoom

This writing workshop is now sold out. Please email [email protected] to join the waitlist—and become a member for early access to future programming.

In this workshop, students will tackle the sometimes uncomfortable but always essential foundation of fiction: writing intimacy and relationships. Whether portraying the bonds between strangers, the complexity of friendship, physical intimacy, the connection between human and animal, or the ways we fight, how can we telegraph the nuance of character relationships with the dynamism it deserves, sacrificing neither specificity or plot? What does it really mean to be intimate, to know (or not know) someone, and how do we express that knowing in story?

We’ll use short stories and novel excerpts to look closely at the craft of character engagement, seeing what dials can be turned to tell the stories of these relationships with clarity, precision, and power. Students will experiment with different approaches to this task in their own work, concentrating on a scene level, learning how to make choices to write the fraught spaces of human relationships with honesty and vulnerability without being saccharine, evasive, or falling into cliches. In addition to weekly generative work, each student will have the opportunity to workshop scenes. Great for writers already entrenched in larger projects or those just getting started.

Course Outline:

Week 1 – Beginnings: Writing meetings
Week 2 – It’s Not Romantic: Writing platonic, familial, and other connections
Week 3 – Killing Me Not-So-Softly: Writing disagreements and fights
Week 4 – Three is the Magic/Tragic Number: Writing love triangles
Week 5 – Let’s Get Physical: Writing sex (+workshops)
Week 6 – Dissolutions: Writing deaths and endings (+workshops)
Week 7: Workshops
Week 8: Workshops

Level: Intermediate & Advanced

This course is held online via Zoom.

Led by

Danielle Lazarin

Danielle Lazarin

Danielle Lazarin is the author of the short story collection Back Talk. Her fiction and essays have been published by places such as the Southern Review, Colorado Review, Glimmer Train, the Cut, and Literary Hub, amongst others. Her work has been honored by the New York Foundation for the Arts, The Studios at Mass MoCA, Millay Colony for the Arts, and The Freya Project. She lives in New York, where she is at work on a novel and a short story collection.

About this series

Writing Workshops

We strive to make our classes the most inviting and rewarding available, offering an intimate environment to study with award-winning, world-class writers. Each class is specially designed by the instructor, so whether you’re a fledgling writer or an MFA graduate polishing your novel, you’ll find a perfect fit here.

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