Author: Dan White

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Here is my new personal essay about the implications of hiking in the days of the ever-present smartphone, told from the perspective of someone who remembers when calling out from the backcountry was impossible.

Thank you to Five Dials and Hermione Thompson for bringing out this interview to a whole new audience. It was a tremendous honor to interview Toni Morrison and talk about her with Angela Davis. Read the story here.

This winter, Jonathan Franzen invited me to his Santa Cruz home where we talked about the consuming process of bringing characters to life. We also talked about his abandonment of satire, why he got sick of New York, how aging and life in the Central Coast changed his outlook, and while he still loathes social media. Here is my interview with him, which appears in the latest edition of Catamaran lit magazine. Make sure to go out and get a hard copy at your local indie bookstore, or send in to subscribe!

Hello, everyone. There is still room left for the online seminars I am teaching with my wife Amy Ettinger, author of Sweet Spot. We’ll be talking about structuring personal essays and memoirs. Here you will find a comprehensive list of my new classes, which will take place June 12 and 13, (online personal essay and memoir classes), July 25-29 (in-person teaching at Catamaran lit. conference in Santa Cruz) and August 7, 14, 21, and 28 (online memoir workshop and craft class) On June 12, Amy and I will teach a class about the personal essay from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. PDT. There are many ways to tell the same story. The choices can be overwhelming for writers. We’ll discuss how to structure an essay, from anecdotal ledes to circular essays to braided narratives. Writers will learn a variety of ways to turn their experiences into narratives that editors will…

Dear writers: I am excited to announce my June 12-13 online craft seminar with Amy Ettinger: “Structuring Personal Essays & Memoirs.” Both classes take place 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. PST. June 12 is all about the personal essay. June 13 covers memoir. I will talk about pacing, structure, scene, a sense of place, voice and tone. Looking forward to seeing you there! Enrollment will be limited to 20 students per class. Sign up right here –– info below. Craft Seminars: Structuring Personal Essays and Memoirs With Dan White and Amy Ettinger $100 for each session About this Event June 12: Essay 10 am-12 pm PDT There are many ways to tell the same story. The choices can be overwhelming for writers. We’ll discuss how to structure an essay, from anecdotal ledes to circular essays to braided narratives. Writers will learn a variety of ways to turn their experiences into…

Dear writers — there are only two spots left in the brand-new edition of my nonfiction ‘hybrid’ online course called “Upwellings,” a blend of craft talk, small-group workshops, and on-the-spot and take-home prompts and craft exercises that will generate “upwellings” of memory and creative outbursts on the page. This course fuses some of the spontaneous elements of my “Ideas Generator” course with the traditional craft seminar and workshop. Six spots have already been reserved, and I need to limit enrollment to a maximum of 8, so please contact me right away at dwhitescruz@yahoo.com if you are interested. The courses are Zoom-based but they have a strong ‘analog’ component. The sessions take place April 3, 10, and 17 (no class on April 24) and May 1 from 1230 to 230 p.m. PST. Here is how the course will work: Each class includes a craft talk, focusing on potentials and challenges of…

Dear writers — I’ve had several queries about my memoir and personal essay class. When will I be teaching this again? When is the start date? All I can say is that I’m going to be back in a month or so — at this point I’m aiming for early April. I’m hoping to have another installment of “Upwellings,” my popular course that involves workshopping and generative prompts as well as access to an instant community of writers. Enrollment is strictly limited (and the classes often fill up quickly) so please check this site starting in a couple of weeks from now or feel free to email me directly at dwhitescruz@yahoo.com. If you’re thinking of joining the class, I’m hoping you’ll have essays and chapters that you’ve been working on and are willing to share. (I also ask for students with a strong spirit of open-heartedness and mutual aid. To…

Dear writers: update – enrollment for this class is now closed. Thank you very much to everyone who signed up and expressed interest in this class — I really appreciate it. Please check this site in a few weeks because I hope to teach a nonfiction writing class in March or April, and will share details as soon as I have figured out the scheduling. Stay safe, and good camping to all of you — cheers from Dan Dear writers – are you tired of “thru-hiking” this rigorous Writing Life all by yourself? Would you like to join and instant and steadily growing writers’ community, receive detailed feedback on your work, inspiration for new ideas, and start the new year with creative projects? I have only three spots left in my upcoming nonfiction “hybrid” online course, “Upwellings, 2021,” a blend of craft talk, small-group workshops, and on-the-spot and take-home prompts…