The purpose of this group is to act as a writer’s book group. What that means is that we will read a book together and learn different writing craft techniques from it. This month we will be reading Furiously Happy by Jenny Lawson and engage in an online discussion about different craft elements of the book, what works and what doesn’t. The book will help to guide our discussions on how we can take a not-so-funny situation or experience (say, mental illness or bad relationships), and approach writing it in a hilarious way. This isn’t to belittle or undercut the challenging aspects of life, but rather to conceive of them differently—something that can bring even more readers to your work! We’ll look at how structure, word choice, organization, and narrative voice can help readers relate to our struggles through a spot-on, call-it-like-it-is, hilarious truth-telling essay.

Each week, book group members will have the option to post her response to one of the writing exercises and/or the latest draft of the essay she started at the beginning of the course. Members will give brief feedback on every person’s work, and the instructor will provide thorough comments and revision suggestions each week. The group will be coordinated using a private forum on a website.