☃️ 🍧 🦖 Scholarships now open for Winter ’25 classes! Apply on the class page 😎 🏂 🗻

A Little Bit of Everything: Adventures in Genre & Form

with Mayur Chauhan

Genres: Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry, Short Story, Essay

Online

Open to all levels

6 Sessions

Start Date: September 24, 2024
End Date: October 29, 2024
Day of Week: Tuesday
Time: 10:00 am - 1:00 pm PT
Capacity: 15 seats
2 seats left!
Member Price: $347.40
General Price: $386.00

Request a Scholarship

“I believe the more we work in different ways the better we become at creating art, gaining confidence, and finding our voice.” – Mayur Chauhan, instructor 

Entering the wide world of writing, and not sure where to start? Searching for something new? Facing a creative block the size of Mount Doom? Hounded and haunted by a fear of inadequacy and crippling perfectionism? Just me? Bueller?  

Let’s push past the same old, stretch our creative muscles, and get back to the best part of writing: pure play.  

Over six weeks, we’ll experiment with various writing exercises and forms, focusing on a new topic each week: humor, fiction, poetry, storytelling, essays and more. We’ll also silence our inner critics, practice putting pen to page without overthinking, and celebrate our works in progresses together. Leave with several drafts of playful writing, a better understanding of genre and form, and a stronger creative practice.  

What to expect: 

  • Generative Writing: Students create new work during class or from assignments. 
  • Craft discussion: Teachers and students explore essential elements of craft 
  • Reading: Class engages in close study of one or more works.  
  • Optional writing and/or reading outside of class. 

Students say… 

“Mayur is into this stuff! He's living it. He's open and helpful and optimistic. He doesn't push, he supports. I so admire how he is living the dream of creating all the time, and encouraging others to do the same. Thumbs up to Mayur!” 

“[Mayur] was so funny and had a good heart…I felt uplifted, encouraged, and approachable. Great at giving and receiving feedback as well. Thanks to Mayur!” 

Registration Dates:  

  • August 13: Member registration opens at 10:30 am PT   
  • August 20: General registration opens at 10:30 am PT  
  • September 1: Last day of Early Bird discount 
Mayur Chauhan

Mayur Chauhan

He/him/his

Mayur Chauhan is an L.A-based immigrant, writer, actor, and comedian, originally from Delhi. Mayur is a Key West Literary Seminar and Bread Loaf scholar. His humor pieces have been published in McSweeney’s and many other publications.

Describe your teaching style.

My coaching is writer-centered and engaging. I encourage the participants to become more confident in their voice and their work while staying open to suggestions. If there's one thing I'd repeat at least 589 times in class is "You are the final decision maker."

I believe self-care and playfulness are as important as craft and marketplace. Also, I love to meet everyone's pets via Zoom.

Each class description includes a breakdown of what you can expect in terms of in-class activity, feedback, and homework (if any). 

Generative means you’ll be generating new writing, either in class or at home between classes.

Workshop means you’ll be sharing work to be read and critiqued by your instructor and classmates and that you will also be critiquing the work of your peers. 

Reading means you’ll be doing close reading of a work with an eye toward craft. 

Craft discussion means you’ll be looking at the tools writers use to do that thing they do so well and then trying it out yourself.

Class levels are designed for various stages of the writing journey. Simply self-select the level that sounds best for where you’re at. 

Introductory: This is your first creative writing workshop, first writing class since high school, or first foray into a new genre or form. You’re looking to try something new, kickstart your writing, and/or establish yourself in the fundamentals.

Intermediate: You have a strong understanding of writing fundamentals and are eager to deep dive into craft. You’re honing your writerly identity and voice through independent projects. In workshop, you look for constructive feedback and are ready to do writing and reading outside of class.

Advanced: You’ve written a significant body of work and have taken it through several stages of revision. You’re getting ready to publish or are in the early stage of publishing, and you’re interested in refining the skills that will take you to the next level in the literary industry.

All Levels: You are any of the above and are looking to play with new possibilities.

You’ll get your class information, including Zoom link if applicable, three days before the first day of class.

Write With Hugo House is our free monthly write-in program, operated in partnership with the Seattle Public Library. Two take place onsite at SPL locations, one takes place online. 

Sliding-scale classes are offered every quarter. Find them in our Class Catalog.

We announce flash sales, early bird periods, and special deals through our e-newsletter; sign up at the bottom of this page.

At this time, we offer payment plans on classes 8 sessions and up. Email education@hugohouse.org with the name of the class you’re interested in to set up a payment plan.

Our payment plan policy: 
  • We charge a 5% nonrefundable administrative fee for all payment plans. 
  • Extended payment plans up to 8 monthly installments and 16 semi-monthly installments are available upon request.
  • We are unable to hold seats for prospective payment plan students. Students will be enrolled once their first installment has been paid. 
  • If you need to cancel, Hugo House will issue refunds according to its cancellation and transfer policies. Your 5% nonrefundable admin fee will not be refunded. 
  • If you withdraw from a class after it begins, you will not receive a refund and are still responsible for paying the full course tuition.

Asynchronous classes are perfect for students that need flexibility!

During an asynchronous class, instructors release new lessons once per week. Students then have one week to complete that lesson and any accompanying coursework. You’ll learn as much as you would in a traditional class but with the flexibility to work at the best times for your schedule!

While there are no live sessions, asynchronous classes are still a lively and rigorous experience. Async classes are not static lessons but an adaptable and energetic community space. Be ready to work in a collaborative environment, giving and receiving feedback on your writing, participating in discussions, and growing your writing practice in a way that works best for you.

Asynchronous classes take place through the website Wet Ink. Students receive an invitation to the class and to set up a Wet Ink account on the start date of the class. Each week of the class, a new lesson will be available through the Wet Ink portal. Classes close two weeks after the end date, and students receive an email containing their content from the class when it closes.

Hugo House will only process refund requests that are submitted 5 business days or more before the class start date. To request a refund, log in to your account, go to “My Account,” select the “Orders” tab on the left-hand side, click the appropriate order, and request a refund for your specific class. Administrative fees apply. Please see our full refund policy here.

In general, we do not record classes. However, an exception if a student has specific access needs.

We encourage students to only sign up for classes that fit with their schedule.   

We do not tolerate racist, sexist, homophobic, ableist, transphobic or any other oppressive behaviors, regardless of who commits them. Please check out our full community guidelines by clicking here. If an instance of community guidelines are violated and not resolved within the classroom, students may let us know by filling out the student incident report.

If Hugo House needs to cancel a class for any reason, you’ll receive a full refund.

You can apply for a scholarship by clicking the red “Request a Scholarship” text on class pages. The scholarship request text is located at the top of each class page, underneath the “add to cart” button.

Hugo House members get to register early for classes – a full week before they open to the general public!, receive a 10% discount on events and classes, and more. See the full list of membership benefits here!

Donations of all sizes allow us to provide access to quality writing classes, events, and experiences for all. Please consider making a donation to Hugo House today.

If you’re interested in contributing your skills, Hugo House accepts volunteer applications for a variety of roles, including event support, administrative tasks, and more. Learn more on our Volunteer page.

Learn about all the ways to support Hugo House here.

Make a Donation

Donations made throughout the year help fund our programs and operations.