Class Description
In How Fiction Works, James Wood argues that simultaneity—being two things at once, or in two places at once—lies at the heart of fiction. Dual settings, parallel plots, underworlds, and alter egos give structural backbone to numerous classics and contemporary works from A Tale of Two Cities to A Tale for the Time Being. But how does the writer—the wizard behind this machinery—master the moving parts?
This seminar will explore double lives and parallel plots, perspectives, time frames, and settings. You’ll learn how to add new dimensions to your characters and stories by exploring underlying contradictions and tensions, and trace the central thread through transitions, bridges, ties, and structures that make it all cohere, or fragment, meaningfully. You will come away with new strategies for constructing the frames and intersections that undergird the narrative whole.
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.