Skillshare Writing Class Review

I took a writing class with Grace Bello last week. It was called "Humor Writing: Become the Next David Sedaris," and it was the first Skillshare class I've taken, though it won't be my last, and certainly not my last with Grace. For those of you who don't know, Skillshare is a website that lets local professionals give affordable classes and workshops in their area of expertise.

Grace gives several classes on writing throughout the boroughs of New York City. I was attracted by humor writing because it's something I've never tried before, but meshes well with my favorite types of writing - namely, memoir essays and creative nonfiction.

I met Grace at a social media meetup a while ago, and we had a good conversation based our mutual interest in both social media and writing. After that, I began following her online presence, which is smart and wildly entertaining. That's how I first heard about her classes.

The workshop was only $30 for 1.5 hours and I certainly got my money's worth. Grace gave us an excerpt of humor writing, which we read together and used to discuss different elements that are essential to the genre. We then followed a series of prompts to begin humorous pieces of our own. After each prompt, we shared our writing and Grace gave us advice on what worked best and what could be improved upon (and how). She also provided a number of practical resources on where we could submit our humor writing if we want to get it published.

I had a great time and came up with the seeds of a piece that could turn into something with some work and polish. I really enjoyed myself and highly recommend that anyone in the NYC area who wants to jump-start their writing on a small budget check her out.