The opportunity to teach a freewriting workshop is a real privilege. At Hopkins, the Intersession format of pass-fail classes with relatively open topics really frees up space to try new things, and it truly is a pleasure to introduce students to the fun side of writing without having to worry about style or grammar.
I structured the course following the Amherst Method model developed by Pat Schneider. But there are distinct advantages and disadvantages to this model in the college setting – I contrast the traditional and freewriting workshops on my Intro to Fiction and Poetry blog.