Writing Classes Are the New Social Platform at Catalyst Press

For Tayla Mocke and Jessica Powers, there's no better time than the present. Time zone differences, scheduled festivals, and a newly thought-out writing class can't get in the way of the publishing duo's goals. 

At Catalyst Press, an independent publishing company, they've honed in on a method of authors-for-authors, leaning into giving their roster of authors a new kind of platform to showcase their writing and teaching skills, and hoping to engage with a community of writers that extends across the globe. 

For Mocke, based in South Africa, and Powers, based in the U.S., the idea for this course of classes started just a few months ago, when they turned a conversation into action. The five-week pilot course started with one in-person class a week.

A handful of students signed up to be taught by Mike Nichol, a nonfiction and thriller author represented by Catalyst Press. His course was themed around the craft of fiction: a workshop specifically designed for writers interested in practicing the craft. The small class size and face-to-face interaction really helped engage the writers and gave an element of live feedback, which many found helpful and encouraging to keep going into next week's lesson. 

Every week, Nichol would have one module, one reading, and a live in-person assignment for the group to complete. The first week was about developing character; the second was on dialogue, which helped build toward the active dialogue portion of the third week. The fourth week covered writing from three different points of view, and the final module was on actually plotting your story. 

The freedom for the authors to create their own curriculum and direction for the courses is exactly why students who took the class say it "outperformed others because of its level of engagement and its feedback quality," and that it was "small enough that everyone could participate without feeling like they could just sit back and turn the microphone off." 

Mocke says the value is in the process. "You can definitely see the value of tangible process and real progress that they make from these practical and engaging [classes]. It's not just a lecture. We sit back and take notes. I think there's real value in actually engaging with people and not just with the teacher." 

Mocke's notes for future class takers: "If you are wanting a lecture where you can sit back, zone out, just take notes, that's not what these classes are. These classes are for engagement and feedback, for constructive criticism. And I think I would want these students to know that we publish wonderful humans who are warm and encouraging." 

The company is already geared up to start the next set of classes. View the current and upcoming classes via the website, https://www.catalystpress.org/event-list.