I want to write. Where’s the best place to start?

In my experience, people LOVE hard and fast answers.

Do this.

Start here.

That won’t work; this will.

It’s about control, I think. No one wants to be wandering the wilderness, writing or otherwise, without a sign-post to safety or a clear path to success. It’s just too random, feels too insecure to have that much choice.

But couldn’t lots of answers to the same question be a good thing? Isn’t it nice to know that there are a bunch of ways to be right?

We think yes!

So, if you have a sense of what you want your end-point to be—film script, short story, picture book, or even “New York Times-worthy article” or “memoir about my time teaching math in Alaska”—start with a 10-week Level I class. You’ll get a strong grounding in craft, a chance to practice with weekly assignments, and feedback on the beginnings of that dream project.

But if you have a vaguer idea of what you want to end up with, a general goal—“I want to write stories” or “I think I want to write a script, but I’m not sure if it should be a tv show or a play”—go with one of our 6-week ‘101’ classes and just investigate storytelling through a broader lens first.

And if, say, you want to write about your life but you’re not sure whether to tell the story as it happened or fictionalize it and turn it into a novel, take a Fiction Intensive and a Memoir Intensive—only a couple of days of your time, a bit less of your hard-earned dollars—and see where the heat is before moving on to a longer class.

Yup, at Gotham, there are lots of right answers. Embrace it! And know that no matter what you choose, you’ll move forward with whatever seed of an idea you’d like to see grow and, most importantly, be challenged to WRITE!

Still want a hard and fast answer to ‘where’s the best place to start’? Okay, fine.

Pick up the phone.

Give us a call.

Let us help!