Class Description
Reading historical fiction can be a wonderfully immersive experience, giving us not only gripping stories and characters but also windows into unfamiliar worlds from the past. Writing historical fiction, however, offers a host of genre-specific pitfalls: How do we capture the language and customs of an era without alienating modern readers? How do we incorporate fact with fiction, research with invention? How do we balance the necessities of story-telling with the requirements of world-building? In this seminar, we will focus on the essentials of writing historical fiction, from the challenges of creating approachable dialogue to the best strategies for weaving real-life figures into a fictional story. We will analyze examples from published authors and engage in brainstorming and writing exercises to explore the most important facets of the genre. By the end of the seminar, participants will have gained a thorough grasp on how to write historical fiction that both brings to life past eras and creates brand-new stories for the future.
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.
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.