Category: Writing in Upheaval

#Creative writing workshops, Beyond writer's block, Character Development, Contemporary Events, Creative Nonfiction, Creative Process, fiction writers, Hybrid writing, Memoir, Multigenre, Narrators, Novelists, Poetry, Short story writers, Story, The Craft of Writing, Uncategorized, Voice, Workshops, Writing & Social Justice, Writing and Empathy, Writing and Place, writing beyond formula, Writing courses, writing exercises, Writing for Social Change, Writing for social change and social justice, writing in the Time of AI, Writing in Upheaval, Writing love, writing prompts

Empathy Engines and the Imagination. Part One.

Anya Achtenberg

Discussion toward a rich writing exploration I’ll post next time. Anya Achtenberg Nov 22, 2025 Empathy Engines and the Imagination. Part One. Anya Achtenberg But first, a few snarky comments from a frustrated creative writing teacher. I teach creative writing. I mentor writers. I consult with writers on their manuscripts. Many people have found me… Continue reading Empathy Engines and the Imagination. Part One.

Announcements, Autobiography and Autobiographical Fiction, Beyond writer's block, Character Development, Contemporary Events, Creative Nonfiction, Creative Process, Fiction writing, Hybrid writing, Memoir, Multigenre, Narrators, Novelists, Uncategorized, Writing courses, writing in the Time of AI, Writing in Upheaval

Custom-Made Story: a 10-Week Intensive Writing Workshop in Fiction, Memoir/Creative Nonfiction, and Hybrid Forms

Anya Achtenberg

Announcing the details for Custom-Made Story: a 10-Week Intensive Writing Workshop in Fiction, Memoir/Creative Nonfiction, and Hybrid Forms (poetry welcome!) 10 Mondays beginning November 3rd, 2025 Nothing pre-fab! This truly Custom-Made approach is guaranteed to be free of: recycled conventions and formulae; and AI homogenizing creativity-crushers. The Custom-Made Story course includes: 10-live Zoom classes, recorded for your… Continue reading Custom-Made Story: a 10-Week Intensive Writing Workshop in Fiction, Memoir/Creative Nonfiction, and Hybrid Forms

Writing in Upheaval

Understanding story focus through the lens of exclusion and inclusion

Anya Achtenberg

I began writing this blog, Writing in Upheaval, as the Covid-19 pandemic was shown to be spreading, and lockdowns and self-isolating began, because so many writers expressed having difficulties working. They had lost their focus, they said, in and for their writing. Shift upon shift, jolt upon jolt Before I’d finished the first of these… Continue reading Understanding story focus through the lens of exclusion and inclusion