Splash Biography

Every character begins with a question. Who are they? What do they want? What are they afraid to admit, even to themselves? This creative writing class is all about learning to write with wonder. We’ll explore how curiosity sparks imagination, and how asking the right questions can turn vague ideas into characters that feel real. Through fast-paced prompts, strange scenarios, and collaborative discussion, you’ll practice inventing characters who surprise you. People who feel like someone you’ve known forever, or someone you’re just beginning to figure out. Whether you’re a writer, a thinker, or just someone who loves a good story, this class invites you to write from a place of play, intuition, and discovery!

This course explores how literature can confront injustice, question authority, and illuminate the structures that shape our lives not through argument but through imagination. From 1984 to The Handmaid’s Tale, we will study how storytelling becomes a form of rebellion, allowing readers to think critically about society without feeling divided by ideology. Students will learn how fiction can expose power, provoke empathy, and turn resistance into art, crafting stories that speak with both courage and compassion.

What does it mean to know someone? This class uses literature and writing as a lens to explore human behavior, motivation, and emotion. From ancient myths to contemporary fiction, stories allow us to enter other minds—not just observe people, but feel what it’s like to be them. Through short readings, discussions, and creative exercises, we’ll study what makes a character believable: their contradictions, silences, impulses, and decisions. We’ll also experiment with low-stakes acting and improv to get inside a character’s body and voice before writing. By the end, students will craft scenes and characters that feel psychologically rich and layered.

Every character begins with a question. Who are they? What do they want? What are they afraid to admit, even to themselves? This creative writing class is all about learning to write with wonder. We’ll explore how curiosity sparks imagination, and how asking the right questions can turn vague ideas into characters that feel real. Through fast-paced prompts, strange scenarios, and collaborative discussion, you’ll practice inventing characters who surprise you. People who feel like someone you’ve known forever, or someone you’re just beginning to figure out. Whether you’re a writer, a thinker, or just someone who loves a good story, this class invites you to write from a place of play, intuition, and discovery!

What if storytelling could shape the future? This course explores how speculative fiction connects science, government, and ethics, using storytelling to imagine new possibilities and engage with real-world dilemmas. Students will learn the mechanics of great storytelling—plot, structure, and world-building—while analyzing how fiction can communicate scientific ideas, challenge political systems, and spark meaningful conversations about the world we live in and the futures we might create.

From the Manhattan Project to MKUltra, from DARPA’s futuristic technologies to the classified world of aerospace research, government-funded science has shaped history in ways most of us will never know—because much of it is classified. This course explores the intersection of science, government, and national security, analyzing how scientific breakthroughs have been driven, controlled, and sometimes hidden by state power. Through analysis of real-world examples, discussions on government documents, and ethical debates, students will gain insight into how science both enables and is constrained by political and security concerns. Whether you're interested in physics, espionage, or policy, this class will uncover the hidden world where science and secrecy collide!

What if I told you that Star Trek helped invent the cell phone, or that 1984 predicted our surveillance culture? Science fiction isn’t just about wild ideas—it shapes the way we think about the future, and sometimes, it even creates it. In this class, we’ll explore how sci-fi has influenced real-world science, from AI and space travel to climate change and bioengineering. We’ll dive into utopian dreams, dystopian nightmares, and apocalyptic warnings to see how they reflect (and sometimes steer) history. Along the way, we’ll debate whether sci-fi is just good storytelling or a self-fulfilling prophecy. Expect thought-provoking discussions, fun creative exercises, and a deep dive into the power of storytelling to shape what comes next.