Teaching Philosophy
Students are drawn to writing because they want to tell a story or because language excites them. My goal is to tap into that energy and help each student, regardless of ability level, make discoveries through language. I strive to establish a nurturing classroom environment where students feel safe sharing their work and ideas, and can grow as writers.Upcoming Classes
Mother Words Online Summer Session - 8 weeks Closed
June 11 - August 6 (no class week of June 29)
Whether you are a new mom or a veteran, whether you gave birth to or adopted your child, in this online class you’ll learn how to take birth and motherhood stories and turn them into art. Weekly lectures, reading assignments and writing exercises will focus on telling details, character development, emotional distance, strengthening your reflective voice, and revision. You can expect to generate a number of short creative nonfiction pieces and one long piece. You will receive feedback from your peers and from me through online workshops.
This class is open to writers of all ability levels! Join us!
Cost is $225 - $275 (on a sliding scale). Class size is limited. Please contact me for questions or to register.
New! Writing Parenthood
July 11, 9 am - 1 pm, Loft Literary Center
Parenthood offers endless fodder for writing. In this one-day class you’ll learn how to capture your funny and heartbreaking parenting anecdotes on paper and bring them to life with sensory details and strong characters. In addition to in-class writing, we will spend time discussing how and where to pitch your parenthood stories and how to fit writing into your busy life. You will leave the workshop with a start on two essays and a page of exercises to try at home.
To register, click here.
Mother Words at the Loft
I will be teaching a twelve-week Mother Words class at the Loft Literary Center this fall. Class will meet on Tuesday afternoons, 1-3 p.m. September 15 - December 8. (No class November 24.)
For more information, visit the Loft.
What students are saying about Kate's classes:
“Kate is warm, funny and full of great ideas to help writers of every level. I loved her organized syllabus, the breadth of the essays/passages she had us read outside of class, the free-flowing discussions, and the homework assignments that generated unexpected results in my own writing. Kate creates a classroom that encourages students to open up and share their stories, both in the form of conversation and the written word. I was truly delighted by Mother Words. My writing went deeper than I expected, and I felt really inspired by the quality of the work Kate helped me produce.” –
“Kate is a gifted and lively teacher, coach, and guide. She’s got a knack for finding the creative threads in a piece, then helping students weave them together to create something beautiful. I always felt supported and encouraged in her class-which is why I took it three times! The woman is awesome!” –P
“Kate has a way of reading your writing for what it truly is and wants to become. In this way she infuses new excitement into your work and stretches you as a writer in new ways." –K
“Our classroom quickly became a community of mothers writing about every range of experience in motherhood, from infertility to SIDS. Kate’s steady presence, her preparation of selected readings designed to prompt memory as well as writerly analysis, and her gentle critical responses to our work fostered an environment that nurtured creativity, experimentation, truth-telling. Several students were repeating the class for the third time, learning new approaches and diving deeper into their own stories of motherhood. Yes, Kate Hopper IS that good!” –G
Feel free to contact me if you have questions about any of the classes I'm teaching.
What students are saying about Kate's classes:
“Kate is warm, funny and full of great ideas to help writers of every level. I loved her organized syllabus, the breadth of the essays/passages she had us read outside of class, the free-flowing discussions, and the homework assignments that generated unexpected results in my own writing. Kate creates a classroom that encourages students to open up and share their stories, both in the form of conversation and the written word. I was truly delighted by Mother Words. My writing went deeper than I expected, and I felt really inspired by the quality of the work Kate helped me produce.” –
“Kate is a gifted and lively teacher, coach, and guide. She’s got a knack for finding the creative threads in a piece, then helping students weave them together to create something beautiful. I always felt supported and encouraged in her class-which is why I took it three times! The woman is awesome!” –P
“Kate has a way of reading your writing for what it truly is and wants to become. In this way she infuses new excitement into your work and stretches you as a writer in new ways." –K
“Our classroom quickly became a community of mothers writing about every range of experience in motherhood, from infertility to SIDS. Kate’s steady presence, her preparation of selected readings designed to prompt memory as well as writerly analysis, and her gentle critical responses to our work fostered an environment that nurtured creativity, experimentation, truth-telling. Several students were repeating the class for the third time, learning new approaches and diving deeper into their own stories of motherhood. Yes, Kate Hopper IS that good!” –G
Feel free to contact me if you have questions about any of the classes I'm teaching.