Writing With the Body: Using Our Intuition to Write the Personal Essay
with Amanda Oliver
July 30, 2025
6 Weeks
Original price was: $445.00.$380.00Current price is: $380.00.
Original price was: $445.00.$380.00Current price is: $380.00.Enroll Now
What our minds release, our bodies remember—through the stored sensations of memory, dreams, obsessions, and longings. By paying close attention to the language of the body, we can uncover the raw material for personal essays: vivid images, unresolved questions, and emotional truths that linger just beneath the surface. In this six-week course, you’ll explore how to craft personal essays by listening inward, drawing on the intelligence of the body to surface the stories held in your chest, throat, and skin, and learn how to shape those visceral impressions into meaningful, memorable prose.
We’ll begin by discovering the form and possibilities of the personal essay—both traditional and experimental—while using writing prompts, dream tracking, and body-based exercises to unlock images, language, and insight stored within you. As the course unfolds, you’ll shape and refine your work with support from me and your coursemates, receiving thoughtful feedback during two live workshop sessions, and additional written feedback from me.
Between these two workshops, we’ll take two weeks for focused revision, allowing space for reflection and deepened clarity. You’ll then have the option to submit your revised essay or a new piece for your final workshop. I’ll also offer guidance on revision strategies and publishing pathways. By the end of the course, you’ll have a comprehensive process for writing personal essays, from initial conception to final submission.
Who This Course is For
This course is for writers—new or experienced—who are drawn to the personal essay and want to explore a more embodied, intuitive approach to personal essay writing. It’s especially well-suited for those who feel their stories live in sensation as much as memory, and who are curious about how movement, emotion, and physical awareness can unlock deeper layers of meaning on the page.
Course and Zoom Schedule
Note: This 6-week course spans 8 weeks. Starting July 30th, we’ll meet for four weeks, then take a two-week hiatus for revising and editing, then resume our meetings on September 10th for the last two weeks.
Learning and Writing Goals
Learning Goals
- Understand the key components of the personal essay and how to craft compelling narratives
- Develop a writing practice that incorporates body awareness and intuition
- Gain confidence to revise and submit work for publication
- Learn strategies for giving and receiving constructive feedback in a writing community
Writing Goals
- Write and revise one or more meaningful personal essay (1,000-2,500 words) that integrates intuition and physical awareness
- Build a solid framework for personal essay writing that can be applied to future projects
Weekly Syllabus
Week 1: Introduction to the Personal Essay & Writing from the Body
- Explore the structure and elements of a strong personal essay
- Write exercises focused on self-awareness and body connection
- Assignment: Write a reflective piece using body awareness to guide your writing
Week 2: Tapping into Intuition
- Learn techniques for incorporating intuition into writing
- Study examples of personal essays that highlight intuitive, embodied writing
- Assignment: Write a short piece that uses intuition to guide the content
Week 3: Building Your Essay (Workshop #1)
- Begin crafting the framework of your personal essay
- Peer and instructor feedback on drafts
- Assignment: Submit the first draft of your essay for workshop
Week 4: Looking Within to Revise and Refine
- Learn strategies for revising your essay, focusing on clarity, depth, and emotional impact
- Discuss the benefits of taking time, and space, to edit
- Assignment: Revise your essay based on feedback
Week 5: Creative Breakthroughs: The Final Push (Workshop #2)
- Final feedback session on your revised draft
- Learn how to prepare your essay for publication submission
- Assignment: Submit the revised draft for final feedback
Week 6: Submission and Reflection
- Discuss the process of submitting personal essays to literary journals
- Reflect on your journey through the course and your development as a writer
- Assignment: A letter to your future self
Original price was: $445.00.$380.00Current price is: $380.00.Enroll Now
Student Feedback for Amanda Oliver:
Amanda is the best writing teacher I have ever had. In her classes she creates a culture of constructive kindness — she helps students find ways to write more consistently and offers useful feedback while always being gentle and encouraging. Without her guidance and support I never would have had the courage to write and publish vulnerable work. Amanda made me a better writer. Tara P.
In Amanda’s writing classes, writers feel accepted in bearing their hearts through creative writing by creating a space where people feel comfortable embracing vulnerability. Her two-fold teaching style emboldens one’s experiences—workshops become a supportive community space for all participants to support one another, while one-on-one time allows her to work with you on your piece in depth. She is skilled in discerning the essence of your work, offering constructive critiques that foster its growth, all the while preserving its core sentiment. Kyrié O.
Amanda pivoted me to re-think my writing—not in a discouraging way but in a way where fresh eyes would understand the story. She was like a fog light on a stormy night, guiding me in. Yvette C.
July 30, 2025
Length: 6 Weeks
Open to AllText and Live Video
Original price was: $445.00.$380.00Current price is: $380.00.
Original price was: $445.00.$380.00Current price is: $380.00.Enroll Now
