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Making Modern Love
Making Modern Love is a self-paced digital course that teaches you how to write and submit a personal essay for The New York Times Modern Love column. You’ll learn how to shape your story, build emotional tension, write a powerful ending, and confidently submit your work—using the same framework that has helped over 100 writers get published.
Write the essay that gets seen.
A self-paced digital course to help you write and publish in The New York Times Modern Love column.
The Modern Love column only publishes 52 essays a year.
And yet, over 100 of my writers have been selected.
This is the exact process I’ve used—both for myself and my students—to turn real life into work that editors can’t stop reading.
If you’ve ever thought:
“My story isn’t special enough…”
“I don’t know how to shape this into something publishable…”
“I’ve written drafts, but they don’t ever land…”
This course is for you.
Making Modern Love is not about chasing virality.
It’s about crafting a story that feels honest and unforgettable.
Why Modern Love?
Because it’s the most generous doorway in publishing.
Modern Love doesn’t care about your résumé.
It cares about your story.
It’s one of the few places where first-time writers and bestselling authors sit side by side—and where a single essay can change everything.
This course shows you how to write for that door.
What This Course Does
This is not generic “personal essay” advice.
This is a specific, tested framework for writing an essay that fits the Modern Love voice, structure, and emotional arc.
You will learn how to:
Choose the right story
(not the dramatic one—the true one)
Build tension without melodrama
so readers lean in instead of tuning out
Find the universal inside the personal
so your story finds a wider audience
Write an ending that transforms
instead of trails off
Submit with confidence
knowing your work is ready
What Makes This Course Different
I didn’t guess at what works.
I studied it, with the editor of the column himself.
My own Modern Love essay was published by Dan Jones, the editor of the column, and everything in this course is shaped by what I learned from him—plus what I’ve seen succeed again and again with my students.
You’ll also receive:
Exclusive Q&A with Dan Jones
Interviews with published Modern Love writers
Real behind-the-scenes insight into how essays get chosen
This is as close as you can get to being inside of that room.
The Course
Module 1: Setting the Scene
How Modern Love works
What makes an essay unforgettable
Choosing the story only you can tell
Writing an opening editors can’t ignore
Module 2: Developing the Narrative
Building emotional tension
Shaping the middle (where most drafts fail)
Finding the deeper meaning beneath the story
Module 3: The Ending
How to land with resonance
Why transformation matters more than resolution
Editing for power, clarity, and precision
Module 4: Submitting
What editors are truly looking for
What to avoid
How to send your work into the world with confidence
What You Receive
Lifetime access to the full digital course
Downloadable materials
Pre-recorded audio lessons
Interview content
A clear path from first draft to final submission
Who This Is For
This course is for you if:
You feel called to tell a love story
You want your writing to reach real readers
You’re ready to take your work seriously
You don’t want guesswork—you want a process
No MFA required.
No connections required.
Just honesty and commitment and a story worth sharing.
Making Modern Love is a self-paced digital course that teaches you how to write and submit a personal essay for The New York Times Modern Love column. You’ll learn how to shape your story, build emotional tension, write a powerful ending, and confidently submit your work—using the same framework that has helped over 100 writers get published.
Write the essay that gets seen.
A self-paced digital course to help you write and publish in The New York Times Modern Love column.
The Modern Love column only publishes 52 essays a year.
And yet, over 100 of my writers have been selected.
This is the exact process I’ve used—both for myself and my students—to turn real life into work that editors can’t stop reading.
If you’ve ever thought:
“My story isn’t special enough…”
“I don’t know how to shape this into something publishable…”
“I’ve written drafts, but they don’t ever land…”
This course is for you.
Making Modern Love is not about chasing virality.
It’s about crafting a story that feels honest and unforgettable.
Why Modern Love?
Because it’s the most generous doorway in publishing.
Modern Love doesn’t care about your résumé.
It cares about your story.
It’s one of the few places where first-time writers and bestselling authors sit side by side—and where a single essay can change everything.
This course shows you how to write for that door.
What This Course Does
This is not generic “personal essay” advice.
This is a specific, tested framework for writing an essay that fits the Modern Love voice, structure, and emotional arc.
You will learn how to:
Choose the right story
(not the dramatic one—the true one)
Build tension without melodrama
so readers lean in instead of tuning out
Find the universal inside the personal
so your story finds a wider audience
Write an ending that transforms
instead of trails off
Submit with confidence
knowing your work is ready
What Makes This Course Different
I didn’t guess at what works.
I studied it, with the editor of the column himself.
My own Modern Love essay was published by Dan Jones, the editor of the column, and everything in this course is shaped by what I learned from him—plus what I’ve seen succeed again and again with my students.
You’ll also receive:
Exclusive Q&A with Dan Jones
Interviews with published Modern Love writers
Real behind-the-scenes insight into how essays get chosen
This is as close as you can get to being inside of that room.
The Course
Module 1: Setting the Scene
How Modern Love works
What makes an essay unforgettable
Choosing the story only you can tell
Writing an opening editors can’t ignore
Module 2: Developing the Narrative
Building emotional tension
Shaping the middle (where most drafts fail)
Finding the deeper meaning beneath the story
Module 3: The Ending
How to land with resonance
Why transformation matters more than resolution
Editing for power, clarity, and precision
Module 4: Submitting
What editors are truly looking for
What to avoid
How to send your work into the world with confidence
What You Receive
Lifetime access to the full digital course
Downloadable materials
Pre-recorded audio lessons
Interview content
A clear path from first draft to final submission
Who This Is For
This course is for you if:
You feel called to tell a love story
You want your writing to reach real readers
You’re ready to take your work seriously
You don’t want guesswork—you want a process
No MFA required.
No connections required.
Just honesty and commitment and a story worth sharing.