Brian's teaching has been recognized with the Loft Literary Center/Madeline Island School of the Arts Excellence in Teaching Fellowship (based exclusively on student evaluations) and commendations from the Creative Writing Program at the University of Minnesota - Twin Cities.
The MN North Shore Writers Series is Free and Open to the Public!
This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund.
The Hub Grand Marais June 14 – Creative Writing: Writing Your Coming Out Story 11:00 a.m.
Like the coming-of-age story, the coming out story is about the journey from who we once were to who we've now become. Through examples and writing prompts, we'll outline our own coming out stories and identify significant events that have shaped our journeys.
Two Harbors Library June 26 – Creative Writing: Personal Essay 5 - 7 p.m.
The personal essay shares with readers an interesting, thought-provoking, entertaining, and/or funny experience you've had. We'll identify essay topics by making lists (e.g., hobbies, interests, passions, jobs, places you've lived or visited, turning points in your life, and issues you care about). Once you've identified your topic, we'll look at structures to frame your personal essay.
Two Harbors Library July 3 - Creative Writing:Characters Time 5 - 7 p.m.
How can you present real people and fictional characters in your writing that will engage readers? We'll practice direct and indirect methods of characterization, along with significant details that will help your characters come alive on the page.
Grand Marais Library July 9 - Creative Writing: Funny Stuff 6 – 8 p.m.
A frequent criticism of "serious" literature is that it is often humorless, with a narrow emotional range that begins with ennui and ends in despair. If you want to write with a broad emotional range, this session is for you. We'll read story excerpts that ably mix comedy with heartbreak, and absurdity with terror, as we work towards convincingly adding humor to our own writing.
Two Harbors Library July 10 Creative Writing: Writing Your Coming Out Story 5 - 7 p.m.
Like the coming-of-age story, the coming out story is about the journey from who we once were to who we've now become. Through examples and writing prompts, we'll outline our own coming out stories and identify significant events that have shaped our journeys.
Grand Marais Library September 10 – Creative Writing: Point of View 6 – 8 p.m.
Point of view (POV) is often a question of camera angle (Wide shots or close-ups?) and access (How many characters' thoughts can we and should we present to the reader?). You'll also want to consider reliability, objectivity, distance, and audience. We'll review the different types of POVs and their variations, and exercises will let you experiment with different forms to learn which one is the best POV for your novel or short story.
Grand Marais October 22 - Creative Writing: Nature Writing 6 – 8 p.m.
Nature writing can take the form of prose or verse, with themes of place (Arctic Dreams by Barry Lopez), culture (Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer), and adventure (Lost in the Wild by Cary J. Griffith), among many others. Through examples and exercises, we will try our hands at making the natural world come alive on the page.
Grand Marais Library October 29 – Creative Writing: Personal Essay 6 – 8 p.m.
The personal essay shares with readers an interesting, thought-provoking, entertaining, and/or funny experience you've had. We'll identify essay topics by making lists (e.g., hobbies, interests, passions, jobs, places you've lived or visited, turning points in your life, and issues you care about). Once you've identified your topic, we'll look at structures to frame your personal essay.
Grand Marais Library November 12 – Creative Writing: Novel Structures 6 – 8 p.m.
We'll examine different models for plotting your novel, including the three-act structure, the five part structure, and the "W" method. Come prepared for user-friendly and low-pressure exercises on each model. You will leave this session with a basic outline for your novel idea.
Grand Marias Library November 19 – Creative Writing: Novel Subplots 6 – 8 p.m.
A novel's subplot is a smaller story that runs parallel to the main story. Subplots can raise the stakes, add complexity, explore your novel's theme from different angles, and create obstacles to resolving the main plot. We'll look at examples of successful subplots from famous works, and try our hands at outlining subplots thematically linked to our novels' main plots.
North Shore Readers And Writers Festival Classes
Grand Marias Art Colony November 5 - 6 Working on Your Novel
In this intentionally kind class for beginners and those in need of a refresher, we'll examine and practice novel fundamentals (structure, point of view, characterization, subplots, and narrative time) through craft discussions, user-friendly writing exercises, and thought-provoking prompts. You'll finish class with a basic novel outline, character sketches, and a brief novel synopsis. We'll also have time for your questions and sharing your work (sharing is always voluntary).
Grand Marais Art Colony November 7 - Emotional Range
A frequent criticism of literary fiction is that it is often humorless, with a narrow emotional range that begins with ennui and ends in despair. If you're weary of the drama of the broken tea cup and want to write stories with a broad emotional range, this session is for you. We'll examine strategies to seamlessly infuse humor in our fiction while purging tragic events of melodrama.
Loft Literary Center Fall Online Classes
Saturdays, 1 p.m. - 4 p.m. CST
Registration Opens July 2025
September 20: Five Parts of Story
September 27: Characters & Characterization
October 4: Point of View
October 11: Setting
October 18: Scene, Summary, and Narrative Time
October 25: Creative Language
November 1: Revision
November 15: Emotional Range
To contract with Brian for creative writing classes, click on the CONTACT TAB to submit your query.