Class Description
We all want our stories to resonate with readers. Emotional context is a big part of what makes resonance happen; it’s what helps us understand the “so what” of a story’s key moments. A climax or epiphany or collision of forces is a meaningful reading experience only to the extent that we readers understand how and why the moment is important in the character’s life. In this advanced craft seminar, we’ll discuss four strategies for providing emotional context, look at published examples, and apply a couple through in-class exercises. (Bring a draft of one of your stories to work on.)
Part of GrubStreet's Advanced Craft Series, led by Ron MacLean and dedicated to the exploration of advanced elements of craft. Classes include:
- Advanced Craft Series: Emotional Context
- Advanced Craft Series: Motion Beyond Plot
- Advanced Craft Series: Grounding
- Advanced Craft Series: Narrative Distance (coming soon!)
- Advanced Craft Series: Dialogue Disconnection (coming soon!)
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.
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.