Teen Summer: Writing Dystopia, Utopia, Apocalypse and Hope in Fiction

***This class will be hosted remotely! You'll receive an email from your instructor about 15 minutes before your class is scheduled to begin with a Zoom link. There is no need to download or sign up for Zoom in advance!***

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Class Description:

If you project humanity forward 200 years, what do you see? Aliens? Interplanetary travel? Wastelands? What about 2000 years? What are the strangest, darkest, and most wondrous possibilities, and what can writing about alternate and futuristic worlds tell us about our present reality? This week is all about walking the imagined roads of the future while navigating the challenges that come with finding a plot for your predictions. We’ll explore a wide range of different genres, including dystopia, utopia, apocalypse, futurisms, and hopeful imaginaries, all of which shape the future in unique ways. We’ll study the work of Octavia Butler, Rebecca Roanhorse, Suzanne Collins, Joshua Whitehead, and others, and look at examples from visual art and film. We’ll do tons of generative writing exercises, sketching out new scenes and worlds. For writers age 13 - 18 ONLY. This class was previously listed as, All the Future Can Be: Dystopia, Utopia, Apocalypse and Hope

Takeaway:

Students can expect to leave class with plenty of fresh story ideas and drafts.

Zoom Accessibility:

Online Class Format--Sustainability and Community:

Based on student suggestions and to offer writers a sustainable learning experience, this YAWP weeklong provides a balance of craft sessions and exercises with plenty of optional components so that teens can take screen breaks as needed. 

Each morning session will feature a craft talk or group exercise with your designated instructor, and in the afternoon you’ll have optional and lowkey meetings that could consist of:

• Q&A chat with your writing instructor
• Group writing with music
• Reading party
• Movie viewing followed by a chat about craft
• Writing games
• Open mic/sharing

Students are encouraged to self-advocate, opting out if they are fatigued or diving in if they want more creative activity. Either way, instructors will always be available to answer questions via email and/or Zoom chat!

Registration Instructions:

• If the student is under 18, parents/guardians must complete this permission form online. You only need to fill this form out ONE TIME, NOT for every class. If you cannot remember whether you have already filled it out, please email [email protected] and we will check for you! If you do not complete this form, your registrations could be voided and the cancellation policy will apply.
• If the student is 18, simply let us know by emailing [email protected].
• If you are registering on behalf of a student, add their email in the “For a Friend or Child?” field on the right-hand side of the screen at check out. This will send them a direct link and reminder to create their own profile with GrubStreet.
• Please register with your preferred name :)

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***If you have any questions or concerns, please email us at [email protected]. We’re looking forward to writing with you this summer!***