Second Chances Fall 2025 – Genre Deep Dives

Welcome to the WLT Second Chances sale! From now until 11:59 PM CT December 31, 2025, all of our Fall 2025 class recordings AND our 2025 Agents Symposium recordings are available to purchase by WLT members. Become a member here. Members, log in to your account see the ticket options.

From comedy and romance to thrillers and hybrid poetry, these classes are taught by certified experts in these genre deep dives. If you’re hoping to broaden your writing horizons, these are the classes for you.

PLEASE NOTE: This is not a live class registration. When you register, you’ll receive access to previously recorded classes taught for a live audience. Registration includes access to any handouts, readings, and slides the instructor originally shared with students. The videos will be available for viewing immediately upon purchase, and will expire on January 31, 2026.

Descriptions for each class recording can be found below. To purchase access to the recordings, all you need to do is add your preferred tickets to your cart and check out. You’ll then receive an email containing the receipt for your purchase along with a link to the class recordings and any class materials.

To find our Get Your Work Out There recordings, click here.

To find our Building Blocks of Fiction & Nonfiction recordings, click here.

“The End of the Line: Exploring Hybrid Poetry”
with Deborah D.E.E.P Mouton

This class explores the way poetry blends and transcends into hybrid forms. From haibuns to prose poems and so much in between, we will create new works that push your next poem beyond your traditional line break.

This course is designed to explore how poetry can be a springboard into hybrid writing. This generative class will include discussions, mentor texts, and a possible break out room for sharing. Participants will be introduced to multiple approaches that push the limits of how to structure, explore, and enter hybrid writing.

What students had to say about the class:

• “[The class] was well thought out and provided lots of flexibility to meet you where you are.”
• “This class gave me some momentum!”

“Let’s Lighten the Mood: Why and How to Add Humor to Your Stories”
with Rachel (R.L.) Toalson

Humor isn’t just for comedies; the most memorable stories often use humor at opportune moments in the narrative.

Humor can deepen character relationships, both soften and enhance emotionally charged scenes, and make a story more enjoyable. But forced humor is humor that falls flat. So how do you add humor in a way that feels natural to your voice and story?

In this class, we’ll explore types of humor, techniques for making readers laugh (without relying on “easy” or flat humor), and how to balance humor with heavier themes. Students will discover tips and techniques for incorporating humor into stories in ways that will deepen their emotional impact and will gain confidence in using humor as a storytelling tool, not a gimmick. Come ready to (re)discover the power of levity in your storytelling.

What students had to say about the class:

• “Rachel’s suggestions on ways to lighten up the mood even in a serious plot was incredibly practical.”
• “Rachel was well prepared to speak on the topic.”

“Anatomy of a Romance”
with Sherry Thomas

Even though it’s not discussed as much, story structure is just as important in a romance as it is in a mystery or a work of speculative fiction.

In this class, we will break down a romance into its essential skeletal blocks and then reconnect the bones to the sinews of the story (plot, character, pacing, etc.) to show how all the components work together. Students will learn not only a workable story structure, but why that structure works. They will also learn to slot in all the tropes under the sun to their relevant places on a story structure.

What students had to say about the class:

• “Sherry really does know what she is talking about when it comes to crafting popular fiction.”
• “Sherry Thomas is a fascinating theorist and very funny speaker.”

“Playing with Form: Exploring New Shapes & Structures in Storytelling”
with Jenny Tinghui Zhang

When it comes to storytelling, form and narrative are inextricably linked. In this class, we’ll investigate the different shapes and structures that stories can take and experiment with new forms in our own work.

Most of us have been taught that a story or essay has to take a certain shape and follow a certain structure. For example, the five-paragraph essay or the chronological story. But what happens when we play with those parameters–perhaps even break out of those parameters? What happens when we adopt the form of something that’s not recognized as a traditional narrative, like a grocery list, dating profile, or PowerPoint presentation, and shape our story within it?

In this class, we’ll look at a wide variety of narrative forms through readings, discuss the role of form in storytelling, and create new work (or challenge existing work) with generative writing prompts designed to play with form. Writers are encouraged to bring a piece they’re currently working on. Both fiction and nonfiction writers welcome!

What students had to say about the class:

• “Everyday forms can become structures for storytelling.”
• “I enjoyed her lecture on form!”

“Creating the Thriller Antagonist(s)”
with Richard Z. Santos

A good plot relies not only on a compelling protagonist and an interesting setting but a series of antagonists who drive the story forward by putting multiple roadblocks in front of your hero.

In this class, we’ll review elements of a good mystery/thriller, and then we’ll discuss how to use multiple antagonists to keep the story moving forward. Hitting a wall (aka “writer’s block!”) happens when our idea runs out of plot, but a nested series of antagonists can help you move past this. This approach will keep your story, and writing, going by upping the ante from beginning to end.

What students had to say about the class:

• “Feedback on writing prompts was incredibly insightful and helped clear up some challenges I was facing.”
• “Great class with useful information and helpful examples.”

“Writing the Natural World: A 21st Century Reboot”
with Christopher Brown

For any writer in any genre, nature is a presence in the narrative, whether as the central focus or ambient background.

Writing the natural world presents a tremendous opportunity, especially in our current moment, when we can all feel the ways in which the climate and the other life around us is changing, and the personal and collective anxiety about what’s coming is ever-present, if mostly on slow burn.

With a mix of short readings, exercises, and discussions, students will learn fresh perspectives on how to approach the presence of nature in their work, using new, fun tools to harness nature’s narrative and emotional power and better serve the unique voice of the work.

What students had to say about the class:

• “I appreciated the thorough dive into the topic, friendly delivery, and openness to discourse.”
• “It was insightful to hear about Christopher Brown’s writing process and ways of noticing.”

“Show and Tell: The Power of Exposition and Interiority”
with Stacey Swann

When it comes to writing fiction, the phrase “show don’t tell” is so common, most writers have internalized it; however, there can be great power in vivid exposition and in delving into a character’s interiority. In this class, we will explore the ways those techniques can heighten the impact of our scenes and allow deeper access to voice.

When it comes to writing fiction, the phrase “show don’t tell” is so common, most writers have internalized it. We live in a culture dominated by film and TV, and those mediums are defined by showing. (Who loves a voice over? No one!) But as in so many things, this type of black and white thinking has drawbacks. There can be great power in vivid exposition, in delving into a character’s interiority; these are the things that can set fiction apart from other narrative art forms. Those craft elements can bring us inside the characters, showing their complex, subjective selves rather than keeping us outside, as passive viewers. In this class, we will explore the ways that exposition and interiority can heighten the impact of our scenes and allow deeper access to voice. Students will come away with new techniques to explore and integrate into their own work.

What students had to say about the class:

• “Excellent class! Enjoyed the content and the writing exercises were super helpful!”
• “She shared great exercises that we can reuse for future projects.”

“Your World as Character: Creating Worlds That Feel Expansive, Unique, and Lived In”
with Ehigbor Okosun

Learn how to define your story’s ecosystems and create or further develop unique worlds, be they fantastical, contemporary, or otherwise.

Worldbuilding to many is a daunting word, synonymous with epic fantastical stories or sweeping space operas. But, what if these associations weren’t necessary? What if worldbuilding was just another tool in your writer’s toolkit that could be wielded to help shape the ecosystem that your characters are born into and affected by? With the right approach, worldbuilding can become a series of important exercises that writers can go through no matter what book or genre they are writing in. In this class, learn how to build unique worlds that stoke readers’ imaginations and keep them locked in during a story. Writers at any stage of their projects will use a series of techniques to deepen their understanding of worldbuilding and learn to write worlds that feel rich, lived in, and fully-realized.

What students had to say about the class:

• “This was one of the more interactive WLT classes I’ve taken, and it made me learn a lot!”
• “Ehi was so fun and knowledgeable, I really appreciated her teaching style.”

“Writing Towards the Unsayable in Poetry”
with Saúl Hernández

There are moments we wish a mirror told the whole truth of what lies under our skin. In this class, students will learn to write towards the unsayable by exploring theory, analyzing elements of poetry, and looking at poems which risk.

How does one write poems that risk everything? How does one write poems towards a subject in an authentic way without diminishing violence, grief, death, war, or other threats? This class will explore these questions by examining the aesthetics and techniques of poetry, exploring theories, looking at poems which risk, and learning to turn silence into action.

What students had to say about the class:

• “Saúl was a fantastic instructor and I left the class with new poetry tools, inspiration, and a draft poem.”
• “I think this workshop was at a level that showed me what I am doing right now with my work and what I really want to express on the page later or in the future.”