Upcoming 2026 Classes
How to Write a Short Humor Piece, Saturday, July 11th 1-3pm ET (online, $99)
**if you can’t attend live, a recording with class slides will be sent out following the class
In this two-hour class you’ll learn a repeatable process for writing a short humor piece in the style of McSweeney’s Internet Tendency, The Belladonna, Points in Case, and other online sites (note: we will not cover satirical news like The Onion or Reductress). You’ll learn how to brainstorm, find a structure for your piece, craft a strong comedic premise and title, and use the two-list system of joke writing to fast draft a humor piece. Come ready to write and leave with a new piece and a set process to write even more in the future.
How to Write Funny Fiction, Saturday, August 1st 1-3pm ET (online, $99)
**if you can’t attend live, a recording with class slides will be sent out following the class
In this two-hour generative Zoom seminar, I’ll break down how to make your fiction laugh-out-loud funny, from your premise to your protagonist to your line-level writing. The class opens with an overview of comedic novel subgenres: speculative, hyperreal, satirical, dark, and absurd. From there, we’ll move into the elements of a high-concept comedic premise and learn the questions and techniques that help bake comedy into a novel or short story idea from the start.
The seminar also covers comedic protagonists in fiction, with a focus on how contradiction and irony can wring comedy out of your characters’ thoughts and actions. The final segment zooms in on the levers you can pull to write funny at the scene and line level: setpieces, character interiority, description, and dialogue. Throughout, I’ll draw on advice from the interviews I conducted with comedic novelists for Inside Jokes, along with examples from contemporary comedic novels and short fiction.
PAST CLASSES (will be listed again soon):
Mine Your Life for Funny Ideas (online, class recap comes with slides)
**if you can’t attend live, a recording with class slides will be sent out following the class
In this two-hour interactive and generative workshop, students will complete lists and brainstorming prompts to gather specifics and interesting ideas hidden in plain sight. After generating the raw material, we’ll experiment with comedic foundations and tools like exaggeration, templates, and twists to create premises and titles for future funny writing. Everyone will leave class with a clear, repeatable process on how to mine and refine comedic ideas into publishable writing. The end of class will focus on creative work strategies to draft, get feedback on, rewrite, and submit work on a (reasonable) schedule–because we’re funny, yes, but also professional.
Testimonial from this class:
"I took Caitlin's Mine Your Life for Funny Ideas seminar hoping to build a more intentional foundation for my comedy writing, and the class far exceeded my expectations! The level of engagement was incredibly helpful. Forming ideas firsthand in the workshop gave me a solid grasp of her tools and processes, and a sense of confidence I previously lacked. I can’t wait to continue future training and workshops with Caitlin!” —David
Write Like an Athlete (online, class recap comes with slides)
What do writing and athletics have in common? Oh, just a dedication to day-to-day improvement, long-term commitment to a goal, and the cultivation of mental toughness. In this seminar, former competitive distance swimmer Caitlin Kunkel will weave together concepts from writing and sports psychology to help participants strengthen their creative practice. We'll cover things like self-talk, pre-performance routines, practical goal setting, balanced critiques, social accountability, and more when it comes to building and maintaining a healthy and strong writing practice. Don't worry, no physical activity is required! Here is an interview I did on the class.
Testimonials from this class:
“Caitlin is an outstanding teacher. The time FLEW by because I was so engaged. So much amazing information and I feel energized to go write.”
“Caitlin’s an excellent teacher. Her enthusiasm is infectious, her experience broad, and her generosity appreciated. I always look forward to a class with her.”
Stop Worrying and Write Your Book Proposal! (online, class recap comes with slides)
Do you have an idea for a memoir, gift book, or essay collection, but you've been fearing the daunting prospect of putting together a book proposal? In this one-day seminar, writers will throw their worry to the wind, learn the nuts and bolts of a professional proposal, and finally defeat the blank page.
Students can expect to walk away with a clear understanding and outline of the pieces of a book proposal, an author bio that emphasizes their unique voice and area of expertise (rather than just a list of credits), and a series of actionable steps for going forward in terms of platform, contacting literary agents, and publishing as a business. Students will be sent a series of exercises the week before the class that will take between 1-2 hours to complete and should be prepared to sum up their book concept in a few sentences.
Testimonials from this class:
“I couldn’t believe how fast our 3-hour course flew by! Caitlin shared so much knowledge, always tuned to our individual projects, and I left the course full of ideas and energy to improve and finish my proposal!”
“Great way to spend the afternoon. Caitlin packs in so much information coupled with great advice and a super supportive atmosphere! Highly recommend.”
“Exceptional course! Caitlin did a great job prepping, providing info, making it tailored to each of us, and inspiring us.”
Comedy Writing for Non-Comedians (online, class recap comes with slides)
Comedy can be another tool in your writing toolbox, allowing you to write with a stronger voice, distinct point of view, and punchiness that can be applied to disciplines such as copywriting and content writing. From the rule of three to learning what the heck a callback is, learn how to be funnier on paper…and maybe even in real life! Perfect for fiction and nonfiction writers, as well as those trying to inject more humor into jobs like content writing, copywriting, and more.
Selected Past Experience
Curriculum Design: I’ve written over 30 classes at the college level, adult education (including four for the sadly deceased Catapult) and for comedy theaters like Magnet in NY, the Brody in Portland, OR, Sea Tea Improv in Hartford, CT, and Washington Improv Theater in DC.
The Second City: Wrote and taught 10 separate classes which continue to run at the theater, including Writing Satire for the Internet levels 1-3, Writing for TV & Film, Writing for Radio and Podcasts, and Satire for Late Night TV (taught in Amman, Jordan in 2019). My students have been published in The New Yorker, McSweeney’s, The New York Times, The Onion, Clickhole, and many other outlets, and write for Last Week Tonight with John Oliver and other late night shows.
Speaking: I’ve given talks at Yale, Brown, UC-Davis, The University of Rochester, Penn State, Northwestern, Boston University, UC Santa Barbara, Author Talks @Google, and Amman Comedy Club in Jordan.
Northwestern University: Taught two terms of Introduction to Screenwriting.
Pacific Northwest College of Art: Assistant Professor, taught classes including Modern Comedy and Satire (Literature Seminar), Introduction to Scripting, Scripting Intensive, Fight the Future: Dystopian and Post-Apocalyptic Stories*
*Yes, that last class shares a title with the first X-Files movie on purpose. You gotta enjoy your life, huh?
