In-depth answers from Dana, Gotham’s Dean of Students.

Why should I take a One-day Intensive?

A zillion reasons!

Okay, well, a few.

There are a few different types of “1-days”—let’s call them that and save some space/time/words—that serve different purposes.

We have 1-days that offer a deep dive into one aspect of craft across the genres: Character and Dialogue.

We have 1-days that are more about professional development: How to Get Published, Blog & Newsletter Writing, even Business Writing.

We even have a 1-day that explores the basics of grammar: (wait for it) Grammar: The Basics.

But the bulk of our 1-days are marvelous day-long overviews of our 10-week storytelling classes: Fiction Writing or Screenwriting, Memoir Writing or Humor Writing, and everything in between.

They’re substantive, providing mini-lectures on all aspects of the craft at hand, in-class writing exercises that get the creative juices flowing and often jump-start a major project, with plenty of time built in for Q&A.

And they’re by no means a mere advertisement for the longer classes, even though you will get a true sense of what to expect if you take one of those. You really will write throughout the day, and really will leave with shiny new tools for your writing toolbox.

So, why take a 1-day?

Take one because you want to wade into the writing process a bit slowly where a day-long exploration feels like a digestible first step. Or because you’re only in town for a short time, and always wondered what a live Gotham class was like.

Take one because you’ve already taken one of our 10-week classes and want some extra time understanding character development or dialogue. Or because you’re deciding between two types of writing and aren’t sure where the heat is for you.

Take one because, once upon a time, you knew the difference between a colon and a semi-colon, but that bit of knowledge is stuck in some far-off brain file along with your first grade teacher’s name and the lyrics to The Brady Bunch theme song.

Or take it to get the all-important brush-up that will make a Level II class a better experience for you and your writing.

Just take one! Or give us a call and let us convince you.