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THE 10-DAY
MFA

The 10-Day MFA is meant to be taken in, well, 10 days, Each lesson contains a short video, followed by an INTEGRATION DAY. These days are very important—in each lesson, I'll tell you what you should be doing during the following integration day in order to integrate the material you've just learned.

Once you've finished taking the 10-Day MFA, you may want to move on to the Academy's Writing Intensive, which consists of a full curriculum from pre-writing to writing to publication, including a library of guest lectures, at the EARLY BIRD PRICE of $97/month. (If you sign up at the $97/month price, you will continue to only pay $97/month even when the price increases. 

NOTE: The 10-Day MFA is created specifically for people who have signed up for the newsletter. Please do not share any of these materials with anyone else. I trust that you'll keep the resources to yourself; if you know that someone else would love to experience this, please send them to the Newsletter page.

ABOUT THE 10-DAY MFA

✏️ DAY 1: Introduction to the 10-Day MFA
✏️ DAY 2: How to read as a writer + reading list (PDF)
✏️ DAY 3: Integration day
✏️ DAY 4: How to build community as a writer
✏️ DAY 5: Integration day
✏️ DAY 6: How to critique and get critiqued
✏️ DAY 7: Integration day
✏️ DAY 8: How to think of yourself as a writer and give yourself time as a writer
✏️ DAY 9: Integration day
✏️ DAY 10: How to talk about your work; introducing The Unexpected Shape Writing Academy

THE 10-DAY MFA

foUNDER of the unexpected shape™
devastatingly fond of potato skins
@esmewwang on instagram

I won the Graywolf Nonfiction Prize for my essay collection, The Collected Schizophrenias, which also went on to win the Whiting Award and to become a New York Times bestseller. I've been a visiting professor at the San Jose State MFA program, and have taught hundreds of students the art of personal nonfiction writing; I also wrote The Collected Schizophrenias while coping with an assortment of debilitating chronic illnesses.

I'm here to help you crack through your blocks and find a more exhilarating way to write while living with limitations.

Hi, I'm Esmé, and I'm obsessed with teaching personal nonfiction to writers living with limitations.

Meet the teacher

Are you ready to move on the Academy?

Here's what you get.

introducing...

The Unexpected Shape Writing Academy

A full-service, open enrollment, online writing school. Recorded classes, full of generosity and spirit. A community to support you. Beautiful PDF workbooks and slides. 

We care about being knowledgeable, generous, and aesthetically pleasing (because hey—beauty does add to the experience).

as seen in:

LET'S BREAK it DOWN

Here's What You'll Learn

 Module 1:

  • Is this okay to write about?: ethics & personal nonfiction. We look at the subject of the ethical questions we need to consider when working on personal nonfiction.

    We’ll look at the questions to consider and ask yourself before and during personal nonfiction and memoir-writing.

    Rather than making recommendations, we provide exercises designed to help you figure out your own answers, including 10 questions to ask yourself before writing personal nonfiction and/or memoir.

Module 2:

  • Journal-keeping for memoirists. We walk through the process of journal-keeping for both your current book idea and the ideas to come. You'll excavate memories in. your journal, using concrete exercises and prompts. To get to the details you need for the project you have in mind—no more wandering in the foggy lands of I don't remember how exactly that went—as well as recording the events of your life for future personal nonfiction and memoir projects. You'll inspire topics for writing that you didn't know your life contained. 

 Module 3:

  • Indexing as creative discovery: using index cards to develop ideas, organize your thoughts, and keep track of research. We will dive into the practicalities of writing a book and the system I personally use to create the bones of any story (including The Collected Schizophrenias).

    We’ll take a practical look at how to use index cards to brainstorm, write, and revise creative nonfiction. When used as writing tools, index cards can not only retain facts and ideas, but can also keep track of important bibliographic and structural information for an essay or book.

    Once collected, cards can then be spread out to visualize the shape of a written project, see what is missing, and envision what needs to be added.

    I've previously taught this technique at the Northwestern MFA nonfiction program, as well as in the Lighthouse Writers Workshop and the Tin House Writers Workshop.

Module 4:

  • Structure & perspective: how do we tell the story? You know what you want to write about. The question is: what kind of structure will your narrative take?

    Metaphorically speaking, are you building a castle, or a tiny house? Will your essay/chapter/book take the form of a braid, a single thread, or a complex tapestry?

    We'll look at the structures and perspectives of different published essays, and discuss how to find the structure and perspective that fits what you want to write.


Pre-Writing

Module 5:

  • Writing personal nonfiction about what hurts. We will take a look at writing about painful subjects. Questions that we will address include, How do we prepare to write about trauma while doing minimal harm to ourselves? How do we know whether it's really time to write about something painful? What about the other people that are involved in the things that we want to write about? And how do we keep ourselves from making our nonfiction into a self-absorbed journal entry, as opposed to literature? 

Module 6:


  • Accessing & writing emotions. Here I address three major areas: accessing emotions before writing, accessing emotions and employing self-care during and after writing, and getting emotions onto the page via style, language, and content. 





Module 7:

  • Pitching & querying. Writing is one thing; publishing is another. How do you get published in a magazine or newspaper? What does a "pitch" look like? And how do you find an agent? What does an agent do, and how do you know when you need one? We'll look at successful pitches, talk about the structure of a query, and discuss the ins and outs of agents, publication, and everything in between.



Writing

Publication

Module 8:

  • What the Heck Is A Book Proposal (& How Does It Work?). We will take a practical look at how to create a nonfiction book proposal that sells. I'm a former book proposal coach who specialized in helping those new to the publishing world create and sell their nonfiction books. Along the way, I learned the ins and outs of writing nonfiction book proposals—and I want to share that information with you. I'll walk you through a book proposal and answer questions about traditional publishing, intended for those who are inexperienced with the book proposal process.  

Our library of guest speakers includes...



  • Eula Biss
  • Leslie Jamison
  • Mitchell S. Jackson
  • Suleika Jaouad
  • Stephanie Foo
  • Yahdon Israel
  • Hanif Abdurraqib
  • Soleil Ho
  • Vauhini Vara
  • T Kira Madden
  • Melissa Febos

...and more.



LORRAINE, an academy student, HAD A DEBUT PIECE PUBLISHED IN THE NEW YORKER

“It's about my experience with heart arrhythmias, and I don't think I'd have had the guts (or coping mechanisms) necessary for writing it without The Unexpected Shape.

"Being a member of that community and hearing from speakers like Carmen Maria Machado and Suleika Jaouad taught me so much about sharing the painful, challenging moments of my own life—as did the courses you taught, Esmé, and your own book. I'm hoping to use this essay as the launch pad for a book on chronic illness, similar to The Collected Schizophrenias.

Again, thank you so much for creating a space to talk about our limitations, learn to live with them, and write alongside them. It's really hard being in a disabled/chronically ill body, but having other people who understand makes all the difference.”

“I finally found the courage to pursue my dream of opening my own homewares boutique all thanks to Kate.”

Melanie chased her dream:

Next

for the self-directed WRITING INTENSIVe

One Payment 

8 modules OF CORE CURRICULUM

ACCESS TO OUR PRIVATE SKOOL COMMUNITY

AN AMAZING LIBRARY OF 12+ GUEST LECTURES FROM TODAY'S BRIGHTEST WRITERS

monthly price: $97
(EARLY BIRD)

*Open Enrollment
*All sales are final (no refunds)

$612

Pay over interest-free installments with Wizebank.

Pay over interest-free installments with Wizebank.

8 x $147 = retail price $1176/month

$97 = retail price $97/month

12 x $147 = retail price $1764/month

retail monthly price:
$3037 (!!!)

The Breakdown

Study at your own pace

Plan based on your learning style

GROW YOUR SUPPORT NETWORK

Follow a proven roadmap

...from a new york times bestselling author

This is for you if:

YOU NEED TO FINALLY MAKE TIME FOR YOUR WRITING—JUST LIKE YOU'VE ALWAYS WANTED

YOU WANT TO LEARN ABOUT PERSONAL NONFICTION FROM TEACHERS WITH EXPERIENCE AND GENEROSITY

YOU'RE TRULY READY TO BUILD YOUR WRITING LIFE AND COMMUNITY

YOU HAVE THE TIME, ABILITY, AND DESIRE TO GO TO AN MFA PROGRAM FULL-TIME

ONCE GIVEN THE LESSONS, YOU'RE GOING TO LET THEM SIT... AND SIT... AND SIT 

It's probably not for you if...

YOU'RE NOT WILLING TO DO THE WORK

$46,666.50

COST OF ATTENDING A PRESTIGIOUS MFA PROGRAM FOR A YEAR (INCLUDING BOOKS AND LIVING EXPENSES)

1

FRIEND I MADE AT MY MFA PROGRAM

84

FRIENDSHIPS AND ALLIANCES MADE IN THE ACADEMY

MANY

STUDENTS WHO HAVE BEEN THROUGH THE ACADEMY

for the self-directed WRITING INTENSIVe

One Payment 

8 modules OF CORE CURRICULUM

ACCESS TO OUR PRIVATE SKOOL COMMUNITY

AN AMAZING LIBRARY OF 12+ GUEST LECTURES FROM TODAY'S BRIGHTEST WRITERS

*Open Enrollment
*All sales are final (no refunds)

$612

Pay over interest-free installments with Wizebank.

Pay over interest-free installments with Wizebank.

8 x $147 = retail price $1176/month

$97 = retail price $97/month

12 x $147 = retail price $1764/month

The Breakdown

monthly price: $97
(EARLY BIRD)

retail monthly price:
$3037 (!!!)

What if I'm

Still on the Fence?

Do you have a question about the Academy that isn't addressed here? Email Esmé at info@esmewang.com. You can also DM Esmé on Instagram @esmewwang.