Class Description
The Fall Novel Generator is a seven-month program designed to help a small cohort of students complete the first drafts of their novels. It is open to novelists of all genres and divided into three phases, each with its own structure and goals, each a few weeks long.
Phase One lasts for six weeks and focuses on craft, through a combination of lectures, exercises, and discussion of a common text. Sometime during this phase, students will have an initial one-on-one meeting with the instructor to discuss their project.
Phase Two the class meets for fourteen weeks of workshopping using the Novel in Progress method—scenes read aloud in class for on-the-spot feedback. Towards the end of Phase 2, students will be divided into small groups for weekly accountability for the remainder of the course. At the end of Phase 2, students will submit 20 pages of revised or new work to the instructor, and will each have a one-on-one meeting with the instructor to discuss those pages, the novel’s structure, and the student’s vision for the book as a whole.
Phase Three includes three class meetings, with students writing independently as they finish their novel drafts.
As with all of GrubStreet’s programs, writers do not need advanced (or any) degrees to participate. They simply need to be committed to their writing and the broader writing community. Scholarships are also available and applying is simple.
Students have entered our Novel Generator programs with as few as 10 pages written and as many as 150. No matter how far along, what matters most is your openness to exploration and revision. Through class discussion and exercises, we’ll help you clarify your concept and strengthen your plot so you can leave with a cohesive first draft.
Below is a quick list of key dates and information. More details about the program can be found via the side links.
Key Dates & Information
- Location: The 2026-2027 Fall Novel Generator will take place on Zoom.
- Application Opens: Monday, March 30, 2026
- Submission Deadline: Tuesday, July 7, 2026
- Notifications sent: August 2026
- Program Duration: September 2026 - April 2027
- Class Time: Wednesdays from 6:30-9:30pm ET
- First Day of Class: Wednesday, September 16, 2026
- Tuition Total: $2,600
This class will take place using Zoom videoconferencing. After registering, a yellow Resources tab will appear in this section containing a link to join class. Please note that you will need to be logged into view the Resources tab.
Zoom Participation:
In our experience, the intimate nature of a writing workshop benefits from on-camera participation. Students are of course welcome to turn their camera off whenever they need to, but it is a community norm for cameras to be on most of the time. You can learn more about using Zoom here.
Zoom Accessibility:
You can enable closed captioning at any time during the meeting by clicking the CC button at the bottom of the screen. If you'd like to access the transcript after class, please make sure to let your instructor ahead of time that you'd like a copy.