Sustaining the Joy of Writing

George Orwell claims “writing a book is a horrible, exhausting struggle, like a long bout of some painful illness,” which is fair. But writing also allows us moments, sometimes even sustained periods of time, that are joyful. This joy is probably one of the reasons we began writing in the first place and it is what sustains us through the long trek toward a final draft. So how can we sustain joy as we work to make word count and page count, and solve problems of character, plot, or technique? In this course we will try to strike a balance between the slow, dogged, iterative revision process on which good writing depends, and the freedom of abandoning oneself to the page. We will play with techniques for rediscovering the pleasure of writing, as well as tricks for sustaining us through the work necessary to complete our projects.

Writers of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry are all welcome! 

Class Format

This class will take place using Zoom videoconferencing. About 15 minutes before your class is scheduled to begin, you'll receive an email from your instructor with a link to join the class meeting!

Scholarship Information

Thanks to the excellent literary citizenship of our donors, scholarships are available for all GrubStreet classes. To apply, click the gray "APPLY FOR SCHOLARSHIP" button. In order to be considered for a scholarship, you must complete your application at least one week before the start date of a class. Please await our scholarship committee's decision before registering for the class. We cannot hold spots in classes, so the sooner you apply, the better. Scholarships cannot be applied retroactively.

For more detailed information about GrubStreet scholarships, including how to contribute to scholarship funds for other students, click here.