Ace the Opening - Remote!

The opening of your book is make or break: agents and editors often stop reading after just a single page. Whether you're writing novels, short stories or memoir, you must bring your audience into the unique world of your story with confidence and creativity—but when you’re so close to the material, it’s often hard to know if you’ve pulled that off.

Using examples from each genre, we will contrast discarded openings with their final published versions, examining the behind-the-scenes editing process and highlighting the choices the writer made in order to both ground the narrative and propel it forward. Through in-depth analysis, we’ll look closely at the critical elements of the first sentence, paragraph, and page. How do writers introduce theme, character, setting and plot without an information dump?

Then we’ll turn to your work. During this discussion, you’ll get a chance to hear invaluable feedback on your first page, and you’ll be invited to ask questions and share concerns. This will help you gain a clearer understanding of what you’re trying to achieve with your opening, and whether it’s working or not. Are you starting in the right place? Does the page reflect your work as a whole in a way that’s both accurate and compelling? This in-depth analysis will help you figure out what your book is really about, which in turn will make it easier to craft a one-liner and a query letter.

This class is helpful for fiction writers and memoirists at all stages of the process. The first page of your work-in-progress will be distributed to everyone before we meet, and you’ll be asked to read each submission in preparation for our discussion. We’ll dive into a few writing exercises, too, to keep it lively. Afterwards, you’ll receive an information packet designed to help you continue perfecting your pages and your pitch.

For a glimpse at how remote learning works, look no further than the deep Zoom discussion of writing and literature below:

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