Class Description
Finding the right ending for your story might be the most difficult part of the writing process — we need to thread the needle with theme, magic, metaphor, and character, all without being too preachy or heavy-handed. In this class, we'll look behind the curtain of great story endings and adapt what we learn to our own endings. We'll work on fitting resonant images and powerful character choices into story endings — all while balancing the bitter and the sweet. We will read examples of great stories and discuss what makes them great (readings may include works by Alice Munro, ZZ Packer, Toni Morrison, Richard Ford, James Joyce, Sandra Cisneros, and others). We will engage in practical exercises to revise our own endings. This course is perfect for beginning or intermediate writers in the process of drafting novels or short stories.
Students will come away from the class with a new ending for their story or novel drafted.
Writing Roadmap: We've created a simple, goal-based writing roadmap to help you find the perfect GrubStreet course for your writing needs.
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.