Penn LPS Online Certificate in Creative Writing ’23
Bachelor of Arts in Economics, Spelman College ’20
Sitting in the solitude of her studio apartment, Lauren Spann (Certificate in Creative Writing ’23) craved connection. The 2020 global pandemic meant her first job out of college—working in financial services—was remote. With extra time on her hands and an itch for engagement, Lauren revived an old interest in storytelling, which steered her to the Penn LPS Online Certificate in Creative Writing.
“Growing up, I always loved reading, watching TV, and just enjoying stories of all kinds, but I stopped reading and writing for pleasure in college because my econ major was so demanding,” Lauren recalls. “While I was working from home in my little apartment, I started getting back into reading. Then I started journaling and writing stories by myself.” This led her to a realization. “I wanted some more structure,” she says. “I wanted to be in community with other writers.”
With encouragement from her parents to aim for an Ivy, Lauren investigated options for courses that were online, academically rigorous, and affordable. “I saw that Penn has a certificate that was creative writing specific,” she says, and when she read the course descriptions, she was hooked.
“That first class helped me establish a writing practice for myself, which was my goal entering the program.”
“The Craft of Creative Writing was my first course. I think it was a good introduction to the program, and it made me excited for all the other classes,” she says. From the start, Lauren noticed the coursework and optional live online sessions added discipline to her writing routine. “On my own, I was struggling to finish the pieces I started,” she explains. “That first class helped me establish a writing practice for myself, which was my goal entering the program.”
By the end of the 8-week term, the course instructor offered to publish one of her short stories, "Medusa and Herophile," in their online literary magazine. “I have a couple of stories there now,” Lauren beams.
Another certificate course, Writing About Place, challenged Lauren to consider the literal and figurative spaces in which she moves as themes for assignments. “Writing About Place opened my mind up to how I'm influenced by my culture and the other cultures that I interact with,” she says. Class readings and writing assignments allowed her to explore inspirations from history and dabble in the genre of speculative fiction. For example, when she came across an article about the 25th Infantry Regiment Bicycle Corps, an all-Black US Army unit that cycled across the country in the 1890s (aka the Iron Riders), she was inspired to use the subject in a short story.
The Art of Editing, a rigorous course about the practical and technical aspects of writing, helped Lauren polish up grammar and punctuation skills and gave her a glimpse at the arduous and necessary process of revising.
Her final course, Fiction Workshop, offered optional live sessions for discussion and critique between Lauren and her peers with guidance from the instructor. “My favorite classes were definitely the workshop classes,” she says. “I really liked being able to exchange work with my classmates and learn how to get and give feedback.”
The instructor also provided advice on the path to publishing and encouraged students to connect with critique groups and writing communities to keep their practices on track after the course ended. With new ambitions to publish her work, Lauren took that advice and joined the Atlanta Writers Club, a historic organization that supports the creative and professional aspects of the craft for regional writers. She meets with her critique group about twice a month.
Since completing her certificate in December 2023, her critique group has helped Lauren stay committed to her writing practice, which she describes as evolving. “I think it's always going to be changing a little bit,” she observes. While continuing her full-time job in financial services, Lauren challenges herself to finish a story and submit it to a journal or magazine monthly. “I have an idea, I find time to write about it, and I take it to my critique group,” she says. After a revision and perhaps a break to work on something else, she’ll bring a piece back to her community of writers. “I get feedback one more time, revise, and then I submit.”
Moving forward, Lauren’s coursework continues to feed her creative endeavors. “I have so many short stories that I'm excited to revise and revisit from my Penn classes,” she says. Her work spans the genres of historical fantasy, speculative fiction, magical realism, and sci-fi with a focus on Black protagonists. Of note, she continues to develop her story inspired by the Iron Riders. And she continues to set ambitious goals. “Maybe in a year I'll have enough for a manuscript and start querying,” she adds, referring to the process of reaching out to literary agents.
“At Penn, I learned to pursue my interests as a writer,” she reflects. “My classwork validated my curiosity in different topics and gave me an outlet for it. I really enjoyed my courses and I got out of them exactly what I wanted.”
