Author: Dan White

hi everyone. Thanks for checking in. I’m dealing with a serious email backlog on my dwhitescruz@yahoo.com account so please be patient and bear with me. It could take me a while to respond. (there’s a lot going on an there are lots of messages in the inbox right now) I just wanted to let you know that I’m planning some early fall writing classes in memoir and personal essay (with, perhaps, a return of my Ideas Generator fiction and nonfiction class) so let me know if you’d like me to add you to the mailing list! You can leave a comment here or just reach out to me via emial My classes tend to sell out well in advance of the class dates, so being on this list really helps if you’re interested in getting a spot. Usually, the classes are quite small (for most of them, I cap it…

hi everyone, and thanks again for checking in. I’ve been getting a lot of inquiries lately because of a story of mine that ran in the Washington Post recently about applying the lessons of the Pacific Crest Trail to the life indoors during the COVID-19 pandemic. I wanted to let you know that my August writing class — focusing on memoir and personal essays — is very close to sold out so please reach out to me at dwhitescruz@yahoo.com if you’d like me to register (and I’ll send you payment info.) There has been a lot of advance interest in this new class — I have only four spots left at this point – so please let me know right away if you are interested. I’m limiting enrollment to 12 students. This class is a chance for you to revise, flesh out and workshop memoir chapters or personal essays that…

Hi everyone. A couple of things. First of all, I wanted to let you know that my writing class is completely sold out at this point. Thank you so much for your advance interest – – hoping to be back with new classes soon!! Also, thank you so much for all your kind messages about my Washington Post Pacific Crest Trail story. Your messages mean so much to me. Even the comments were great. One of you even identified the fuzzy ant-like beings that kept me company along the trail. I didn’t realize that they were actually wasps, so I appreciate your entomological feedback!! If you’re new to my writing, please take a look at the “other writings” page on this website for some stories and essays you can access. I wrote a book called Under The Stars, which is pretty similar in tone and outlook to the piece I…

I’m proud to announce that I will be at the Catamaran Literary Conference July 26-30, leading a workshop group each morning (9:30 a.m. – 12:30p.m.) with up to 12 writers. Each participant will submit up to twenty pages of creative nonfiction writing for review by the workshop group. The writing should be creative in nature and may be part of a larger work or a stand-alone piece. The workshop meets four mornings (Mon.-Thurs.) and each participant will learn methods for revising their own work and will receive focused feedback from the group on their craft. This class will also serve as an ideas-generating machine for writers, encouraging a strong sense of play, improvisation and experimentation to foster in-the-moment creativity. Looking forward to meeting you and delving into your work!

To all my writing friends — this February I am expanding my Ideas Generator class at the Tannery Art Center in Santa Cruz, with all new prompts to bring out the memoirs, novels and short stories that I know are hiding somewhere deep in the La Brea Tar Pits of your mind. Last time around, we had a lot of fun with a world-building improv activity, a “street haunting” inspired by the work of Virginia Woolf, a Victor Hugo-inspired art and writing activity, and many other adventures. In February, four four weekly sessions on Tuesday evenings, I will be back with all new prompts, visuals and ideas for your enjoyment. This class is strictly generative, with a focus on mutual support and the free-flowing exchange of ideas. Registration info here. See new Tweets

Here is an essay I published some years back in Poets & Writers about a poet and professor whose tough-minded ideas about writing and publishing helped get me through a rough patch of writing. He told me about the value of pressing onward, and developing “sheer bloody-mindedness.” Hoping to see Professor Connor when I go back to Wesleyan for reunion next month.

I’m teaching fiction next month for kids 8-11 years at the Tannery Arts Center in Santa Cruz next month. We will have storytelling, crafts and fun. Students will leave with a completed mini-novel, bound in cardboard and hand-decorated. My daughter will be the TA. Sign ups here!  

I just found this vintage, water and sun-damaged picture taken of me on the Pacific Crest Trail. The lettering on the sign is almost illegible, but it says CAUTION: TRAIL IN POOR CONDITION. You can’t tell from the photo but the sign itself is in horrible condition. Though it looks like I am posing with my arms around the warning sign, I’m actually holding it up. When I came across it, the thing was lying on the ground. Anyway, I thought this was worth posting because I just realized that my first effort, The Cactus Eaters: How I Lost My Mind And Almost Found Myself on The Pacific Crest Trail, came out 10 years ago. Unless my memory is letting me down, I believe this photo was taken on the trail a few miles north of Tehachapi, on the same stretch of the trail where I stupidly dumped out my water…