SF Creative Writing Institute

SF Creative Writing Institute We offer premier writing instruction in fiction, poetry, non-fiction, screenwriting, and more in SF We strive to be a warm and accepting environment.

SF Creative Writing Institute offers courses from dynamic and vetted instructors who have teaching experience at the undergraduate or MFA level and/or who are widely published in their genre or area of expertise. We help seasoned pros deepen their craft and we also nurture beginners. We encourage writing as both a hobby and a professional skill. Everyone is welcome here. Our small class size enabl

es us to deliver excellent instruction to our clients. Our students have gone on to attend prestigious MFA Programs, run nationally renowned literary organizations, and land book deals. Creative writing is our passion. Let us show you what we’ve got.

Some days we sit down to write but nothing comes. We try to find the whole sentence, fully formed, before we even type i...
09/01/2026

Some days we sit down to write but nothing comes. We try to find the whole sentence, fully formed, before we even type it. And when it doesn't show up, we close the laptop and decide that maybe today's not the day.

But that's not how writing works. Margaret Atwood has taught us that it all starts with one word. Then another. Then another. And that's the whole trick.

So if you're stuck today, be gentle with yourself. Skip the pressure to get it right and just write one word. See where it takes you.

Need a community that will help you get your words and your story out? We're here for you!

⭐Follow us for more and sign up for our newsletter, link in bio👆

P.S. You can always reach out to us via DM or email. We're here for you!



Writers Block Writing Workshop, Editing tips, Finish Your Book, Write Your Story, Writing Process, Fiction, Memoir, Writing Advice, SF Writers, Bay Area Writers, Writing Group, Author Community, Emerging Writers, Revision Process, Writing Accountability, Storytelling Tips, Creative Nonfiction, Novel, San Francisco, Writing Goals, Drafting Tips, Writers Community

June Jordan's career is the ultimate masterclass in absolute perseverance.Long before any national recognition, she surv...
08/31/2026

June Jordan's career is the ultimate masterclass in absolute perseverance.

Long before any national recognition, she survived brutal domestic abuse from her father, the first regular bully in her life, and later faced total erasure at Barnard College, where no Black authors, no women writers, and no Black voices appeared in the curriculum. She was also assaulted, carrying that trauma in her body and spirit for decades.

She kept writing through violence, alienation, and institutional rejection, producing 27 books over four decades – poetry, essays, plays, and children's fiction. Her raw, uncompromised work turned personal rage into universal anthems. Her signature poem "Poem About My Rights" declares: "this poem is not consent… I am the history of r**e / I am the history of the rejection of who I am."

True perseverance as a writer is refusing to abandon your story even after decades of abuse, academic erasure, and being told your voice doesn't belong.. Jordan sat in the silence, channeled her pain into poetry, founded "Poetry for the People" at UC Berkeley to give working-class and multicultural students direct access to the craft, and kept writing, teaching, and organizing until her final days. A few of us at SF Creative Writing Institute have participated in P4P and love it to this day.

No matter how many years you've spent searching for the voice that's truly yours, remember this story and keep going. Your breakthrough may be closer than you think. Write it anyway. 💛

Join our FREE newsletter (link in bio) to find your creative community and guidance. 👆



CreativeGrace WritersBlock WritingWorkshop EditingTips FinishYourBook WriteYourStory WritingProcess Fiction Memoir WritingAdvice SFWriters BayAreaWriters WritingGroup AuthorCommunity EmergingWriters RevisionProcess WritingAccountability StorytellingTips CreativeNonfiction Novel SanFrancisco WritingGoals DraftingTips Writers

Every kid has stories inside them, the trick is giving them room to get them out. Our Creative Storytelling for Kids wor...
08/29/2026

Every kid has stories inside them, the trick is giving them room to get them out.

Our Creative Storytelling for Kids workshop is a hands-on space for young writers (grades 3-5) to build their voice through pictures, objects, music, and video prompts. No pressure, no red pens - just low-stakes, engaging exercises that grow sentence structure, vocabulary, and confidence at each child's own pace.

Led by instructor Pretty Maggam, an MFA candidate at SFSU who has a passion for tutoring young people in creative writing, this 6-week series meets Fridays, 4:00-5:30 pm, at the Harvey Milk Center for the Arts here in San Francisco. Classes run September 18 through November 6, 2026.

If your young writer has stories to tell but needs a nudge to start, this is the place.

Spots are limited, enroll now through the link in our bio 👆, or DM us with any questions. 💛

If you’re interested in having your child join this class as a drop-in, let us know!

Note: We’re offering this class at a low introductory rate, prices will be higher next season.



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Where does your story start?How on Earth do you keep it going?What’s the difference between ending a story and just stop...
08/28/2026

Where does your story start?

How on Earth do you keep it going?

What’s the difference between ending a story and just stopping it?

Regardless of genre, length, or form, every story has a beginning, middle, and an ending - in no particular order. Beginning writers often start their stories in the wrong place, confuse action with plot, and then end a scene a bit too early… or too late.

In six weeks, award-winning novelist, anthologist, and editor Nick Mamatas will guide you up and down the path of storytelling - through the architecture of fiction.

Nick acquires novels and short fiction, and knows what agents and editors are looking for in today’s marketplace. His work is acclaimed by critics, and praise from outfits like Publishers Weekly and Booklist prove he knows how to keep a reader engaged.

This workshop will give you the tools you need to move through a story with confidence—whether it’s a novel, novella, or short story.

No more getting lost.

👆Sign up now, link in bio.

See you there!



Writers Of Instagram, Creative Writing Writers Block Writing Workshop, Editing tips, Finish Your Book, Write Your Story, Writing Process, Fiction, Memoir, Writing Advice, SF Writers, Bay Area Writers, Writing Group, Author Community, Emerging Writers, Revision Process, Writing Accountability, Storytelling Tips, Creative Nonfiction, Novel, San Francisco, Writing Goals, Drafting Tips, Writers Community

Where does your story start?How on Earth do you keep it going?What’s the difference between ending a story and just stop...
08/28/2026

Where does your story start?

How on Earth do you keep it going?

What’s the difference between ending a story and just stopping it?

Regardless of genre, length, or form, every story has a beginning, middle, and an ending—in no particular order. Beginning writers often start their stories in the wrong place, confuse action with plot, and then end a scene a bit too early… or too late.

In six weeks, award-winning novelist, anthologist, and editor Nick Mamatas will guide you up and down the path of storytelling—through the architecture of fiction.

Nick acquires novels and short fiction, and knows what agents and editors are looking for in today’s marketplace. His work is acclaimed by critics, and praise from outfits like Publishers Weekly and Booklist prove he knows how to keep a reader engaged.

This workshop will give you the tools you need to move through a story with confidence—whether it’s a novel, novella, or short story.

No more getting lost.

👆Sign up now, link in bio.

See you there!



Writers Of Instagram, Creative Writing Writers Block Writing Workshop, Editing tips, Finish Your Book, Write Your Story, Writing Process, Fiction, Memoir, Writing Advice, SF Writers, Bay Area Writers, Writing Group, Author Community, Emerging Writers, Revision Process, Writing Accountability, Storytelling Tips, Creative Nonfiction, Novel, San Francisco, Writing Goals, Drafting Tips, Writers Community

We lost Dolly Parton this week. Alongside the music and the wigs and the wit, she spent decades getting free books into ...
08/27/2026

We lost Dolly Parton this week. Alongside the music and the wigs and the wit, she spent decades getting free books into the hands of kids who might never have owned one, over 330 million of them through her Imagination Library.

She knew what every reader learns eventually: a book is a door. It opens onto a friend you haven't met yet, a place you've never been, a feeling you didn't have words for until someone else found them first.

Rest well, Dolly. Thank you for the treasures. 💛




CreativeWriting Writers Block Writing Workshop, Editing tips, Finish Your Book, Write Your Story, Writing Process, Fiction, Memoir, Writing Advice, SF Writers, Bay Area Writers, Writing Group, Author Community, Emerging Writers, Revision Process, Writing Accountability, Storytelling Tips, Creative Nonfiction, Novel, San Francisco, Writing Goals, Drafting Tips, Writers Community

If you’ve ever felt paralyzed by fear, rage, or the voice inside that says you’re not enough, this is your permission sl...
08/24/2026

If you’ve ever felt paralyzed by fear, rage, or the voice inside that says you’re not enough, this is your permission slip to turn those same forces into your strength.

Audre Lorde, the fierce, visionary poet and activist reminds us that fear and limitation are not the end of the road. The more we allow them to exist, the more we can transmute them into something alive and transformative.

In creative writing, that means showing up anyway, consistently. Let those emotions burn through you, and use them to fuel your next sentence, paragraph, and eventually your next masterpiece. Trust that your limitations are already teaching you how to create more powerfully.

Need a community that will help you get your words and your story out? We're here for you!

⭐Follow us for more and sign up for our newsletter, link in bio👆

P.S. You can always reach out to us via DM or email. We're here for you!


BayAreaWriters SanFranciscoWriters CreativeWriting PoetsOfInstagram WritingLife  FindYourVoice CreativeGrace Writers Block Writing Workshop, Editing tips, Finish Your Book, Write Your Story, Writing Process, Fiction, Memoir, Writing Advice, SF Writers, Bay Area Writers, Writing Group, Author Community, Emerging Writers, Revision Process, Writing Accountability, Storytelling Tips, Creative Nonfiction, Novel, San Francisco, Writing Goals, Drafting Tips, Writers Community

Where does your story start?How on Earth do you keep it going?What’s the difference between ending a story and just stop...
08/20/2026

Where does your story start?

How on Earth do you keep it going?

What’s the difference between ending a story and just stopping it?

Regardless of genre, length, or form, every story has a beginning, middle, and an ending—in no particular order. Beginning writers often start their stories in the wrong place, confuse action with plot, and then end a scene a bit too early… or too late.

In six weeks, award-winning novelist, anthologist, and editor Nick Mamatas will guide you up and down the path of storytelling—through the architecture of fiction.

Nick acquires novels and short fiction, and knows what agents and editors are looking for in today’s marketplace. His work is acclaimed by critics, and praise from outfits like Publishers Weekly and Booklist prove he knows how to keep a reader engaged.

This workshop will give you the tools you need to move through a story with confidence—whether it’s a novel, novella, or short story.

No more getting lost.

👆Sign up now, link in bio.

See you there!



Writers Of Instagram, Creative Writing Writers Block Writing Workshop, Editing tips, Finish Your Book, Write Your Story, Writing Process, Fiction, Memoir, Writing Advice, SF Writers, Bay Area Writers, Writing Group, Author Community, Emerging Writers, Revision Process, Writing Accountability, Storytelling Tips, Creative Nonfiction, Novel, San Francisco, Writing Goals, Drafting Tips, Writers Community

Diane di Prima’s career is the ultimate masterclass in absolute perseverance.Long before any national recognition, she s...
08/19/2026

Diane di Prima’s career is the ultimate masterclass in absolute perseverance.

Long before any national recognition, she survived a mid-century world that dismissed women’s voices and rejected sharp, erotic, and fiercely feminist poetry. She dropped out of Swarthmore College, raised her children alone in Greenwich Village, and faced repeated rejection from the male-dominated Beat scene – being told her “domestic” subjects had no place in serious literature. When she published radical poems in the underground The Floating Bear, the government tried to shut it down and silence her.

She didn’t wait for permission or easy success. She kept writing anyway, building her own presses (The Poets Press and Eidolon Editions), mimeographing and mailing Revolutionary Letters by hand to activists and free clinics across the country, and creating the New York Poets Theatre. She never compromised her voice.

True perseverance as a writer is refusing to abandon your story even after decades of misogyny, state harassment, and being told your voice doesn’t belong. Di Prima worked through the hardships, kept printing and distributing her revolution, and lit the way for every writer who came after her.

No matter how many years you've spent searching for the voice that's truly yours, remember this story and keep going. Your breakthrough may be closer than you think. Write it anyway. 💛

Join our FREE newsletter (link in bio) to find your creative community and guidance. 👆



CreativeGrace WritersBlock WritingWorkshop EditingTips FinishYourBook WriteYourStory WritingProcess Fiction Memoir WritingAdvice SFWriters BayAreaWriters WritingGroup AuthorCommunity EmergingWriters RevisionProcess WritingAccountability StorytellingTips CreativeNonfiction Novel SanFrancisco WritingGoals DraftingTips Writers

Can you relate? 😭🙌Need a community that will help you get your words and your story out? We're here for you!✨Sign up for...
08/18/2026

Can you relate? 😭🙌

Need a community that will help you get your words and your story out? We're here for you!

✨Sign up for our free newsletter, link in bio👆

P.S. You can always reach out to us via DM or email. We're here for you!





WritersBlock Keywords for SEO - Writing Workshop, Editing tips, Finish Your Book, Write Your Story, Writing Process, Fiction, Memoir, Writing Advice, SF Writers, Bay Area Writers, Writing Group, Author Community, Emerging Writers, Revision Process, Writing Accountability, Storytelling Tips, Creative Nonfiction, Novel, San Francisco, Writing Goals, Drafting Tips, Writers Community

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50 Scott Street
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+14153719054

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