Writing about the Body with Madeleine Watts

Tune into your senses and develop your craft

Join fiction and essay writer Madeleine Watts in this thoughtful and inspiring three-part course on writing about the body.

The body is the first point of entry for every experience we’ve ever had. Your body is what holds all of your thoughts and sensations, and your body also dictates the ways in which others perceive and experience you. In this unique writing course you will explore how writing about the body documents and manifests the relationship between experience and consciousness. You will examine questions of self, politics and genre as questions of craft. Through insightful reflections, readings and ruminative writing exercises, you will learn how to approach writing not only about your own body but the bodily lives of other human beings in both fiction and non-fiction.

You’ll learn:

  • How to structure prose work using the details of lived experience
  • Narrative techniques
  • The importance of POV, repetition, and detail
  • How to generate work from bodily knowledge
  • To undertake writing exercises that can form the basis of new projects (short and long)

The course is designed to take you 5-6 hours in total, and can be completed in short stages at your convenience. Scroll down to see the full course curriculum and a list of frequently asked questions.

KYD Members receive a 10% discount on this course and all other KYD online courses throughout the year. Become a member here, or contact [email protected] for more information.

Want to buy a course for a friend? Purchase a gift voucher here.


Your Instructor


Madeleine Watts
Madeleine Watts

Madeleine Watts’s debut novel, The Inland Sea, was shortlisted for the 2021 Miles Franklin Literary Award, as well as the UTS Glenda Adams Award for New Writing. Her non-fiction has appeared in Harper's, The Guardian, The Believer, Literary Hub, The Paris Review, and Los Angeles Review of Books, among others. Her short fiction has been published in Guernica, HEAT, The Lifted Brow and The White Review, and her novella, Afraid of Waking It, was the winner of the 2015 Griffith Review Novella Competition. She earned her MFA in Writing from Columbia University in 2019, where she now teaches. Originally from Sydney, Madeleine has lived in New York since 2013.


Course Curriculum


  Welcome
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  Part One: The Basics of the Body
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  Part Two: The Nitty Gritty
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Frequently Asked Questions


When does the course start and finish?
The course starts now and never ends! It is a completely self-paced online course - you decide when you start and when you finish. We encourage you to approach this material not just as lessons to be finished once and for all, but also as a collection of resources to which you can return time and again.
How long do I have access to the course?
Forever! After enrolling, you have unlimited lifetime access to this course - across any and all devices you own.
Does the teacher provide feedback?
No. If you are interested in receiving feedback on your project, we encourage you to check out KYD's Manuscript Assessment Service: https://killyourdarlings.com.au/shop/manuscript-assessments/
How do I access my course?
All our online workshops are hosted at workshops.killyourdarlings.com.au, via the Teachable platform. You can access your workshop by logging in at that link, or by following the link in your welcome email when you enrol. Please note that as the Teachable platform is a separate website to KYD you will need to create a new account, and will not be able to use your KYD login details.
I'm a KYD member. How do I receive my 10% discount?
Click on 'Enrol in course for $169'. Enter the coupon code that was emailed to you when you became a KYD member at checkout, underneath the tutor's photo.
What if I have another question?
You can email us at [email protected] and we'll be happy to help!

Get started now!