In a YouTube video, a screenwriter once doubted the value of overanalyzing the storytelling process. Before there were workshops, outlines, and structures, there were people sitting around fires just telling stories. The screenwriter went on to say that storytellers should just tell their stories and then hit their stories with a sledgehammer later to see if their story holds up.

The metaphorical sledgehammer is the analytical landscape of our modern storytelling world. Are the characters believable? Does the plot hold up? Are there anticlimactic details? In The Story’s Sledgehammer we’ll enjoy a quick story on YouTube to use as a control and put our stories through a series of questions to see how they do or do not hold up, and further explore what qualities are needed to keep a story intact after being battered with a sledgehammer. While this approach sounds intense, it can actually be fun, explorational, and expansive.

This class is for beginner and experienced writers alike. Newcomers and dabblers are encouraged to join.