College Essay Tutor, 826 Boston
Completed training with 826 Boston. Worked one-on-one coaching students at Boston International High School and Margarita Muñiz Academy. Worked individually with students at College Essay Bootcamp held at Northeastern University.
“I learned so much in the GrubStreet 6 Weeks, 6 Essays course I took with you. ”
“Kristen was extremely responsive to my questions. She offered generous email feedback outside of class time. Writing my proposal in a group gave me the support, knowledge, and accountability I needed to finish.”
“Kristen ran a really fun book group incorporating the five senses. We smelled an Indian spice blend and ate West Virginian corn bread.”
“You are an amazing instructor! ”
“I found the class inspiring and informative. You have an easygoing, generous teaching style that’s easy to take in.”
“Since I took your class, I’m getting so much more out of my nonfiction reading.”
Instructor
I teach memoir and essay topics to groups of adults and youth aged 13-18. I also coach individuals on college essays and book-length memoir. I present about Title Doctor to coaching practices, educational organizations, writing groups, and at conferences.
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Young Adult Writers Program: Contain Yourself: Fun with Flash, GrubStreet
Saturday, December 10th from 12–3 p.m. In-person. FREE! Do you enjoy the challenge of pouring meaning into small containers? If you crave the heat of expressing big thoughts using 100 to 1,000 words, the lightning strike of flash, a short form of fiction or nonfiction, is for you. In this class we’ll first draw inspiration from pieces published in River Teeth and Creative Nonfiction’s Sunday Short Reads series. We’ll brainstorm topics. Then we’ll write flash in class using optional prompts to generate several pieces. We’ll discuss them as a group, and you’ll receive tips for revising your work and submitting it for publication. By the end of the class, you’ll have a revised flash and micro-flash piece, a 150-word writer bio, resources to find writing prompts, and a list of outlets that welcome flash from young writers. What a whirl to paint a complete world in just a few words. For writers age 13 - 18 ONLY. 25 seats max.
Writing Memoir Pitches that Dazzle, GrubStreet
Saturday, December 17, 10:30 a.m.–1:30 p.m. In-person. $65-$75 This class is for those writing a book-length memoir or memoir in essays. If you are looking to sell your memoir, you'll need to write a brief elevator pitch. Pitches also come in handy when you're writing a memoir proposal or query letter. In this class you'll learn how to draft and/or revise your pitch, and even practice delivering it in breakout rooms. This is a great class for the terminally shy, or for those struggling to complete a pitch, and to build confidence in presenting your work as a professional. Writers at all stages of their memoir are welcome! 12 seats max.
Past classes
4 Weeks, 4 Flash Essays, GrubStreet
4 Wednesdays—in-person—from 6–9:00 p.m. (EST), October 5th, 12, 19 and 26. 11 students.
In this generative class, writers received a weekly prompt to write a nonfiction flash essay (100 to 1,000 words), shared their work for feedback, and then revised their essays outside of class time. Students walked away with 4 pieces in various states of completion, as well as resources for where to submit flash for publication. Readings were drawn from publications large and small, from writers famous and undiscovered. The reading list included work from Brian Doyle, Aimee Nezhukumatathil, Naomi Shihab Nye, Deesha Philyaw, Grace Segran, Bhante Sumano, and Grace Talusan, among others.
A Million Little Essays, GrubStreet
This is a fun and generative session for students who love the challenge of the short form essay, in this case 100 words. Short essay writing helps students really focus on a story's essence, a skill that they can apply to essays of any length. We will read essays by Anri Wheeler, Chandreyee Lahiri, John Meyers, Andrew Park, Wen Qi Li, Yasunari Kawabata, Lydia Davis and others to inspire us. Then we'll write multiple tiny essays, as many as we have time for, and maybe, even choose one to revise and submit.
This is a great class for a writer who loves a challenge; craves a New York Times byline; and wants to get hyper-specific with their language by writing a bunch of little essays to get to the point. September 24, 10 a.m.–5 p.m.
Publishing Your Memoir: Demystifying the Proposal, GrubStreet
Do you have a complete or nearly-complete memoir manuscript? Are you ready to publish, but not sure where to begin? In this class, we will learn the components of a memoir proposal: how to create them, and general information about what publishers and agents require in a proposal. We'll study examples from authors who have successfully sold books on proposal, and in the last part of class, we'll do exercises that will help you begin a draft of your memoir proposal. There was a waiting list. Friday, September 9th, 10:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. (Zoom)
GrubStreet Young Adult Writing Program
I co-facilitated a week of creative writing summer camp with Meghan Lamb on Zoom, July 5–8, 2022, 10:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
Learn More About Writing Less: A Flash Class for Everyone
I taught three flash fiction classes for those interested in submitting to Boston in 100 Words 2021: June 25 at 12 p.m.; June 30, 2021 at 7 p.m.; and July 7 at 7 p.m. We offered the July 7 class in collaboration with the Boston Public Library.
Nobody came to the first class. I wrote “Over in a Flash” about the experience.
I attracted a small group for the second class. My third class had almost a dozen students. I was thrilled when several students emailed me their essays after class for my feedback.
I DO: Completing Your Memoir Proposal in 2021
Together with writer Brian Watson, I taught a six-week online course to help a group of memoirists finish their book proposals.