Reading to Revise Your Short Fiction - Remote!

Class Description

Have you opened the Word document of your "work in progress" with dread, knowing (even before your critique partner, or your agent, or editor told you) that the work needs substantial revision? Have you wondered if you could do it? Been frightened about losing a chance to be published if your edits didn't meet an agent's or editor's expectations?

Many times people get stuck in a loop of reading, retracing, deleting, etc–solipsistic approaches to revision. What if you could energize the revision process by determining a reading path forward, solving the problems of your manuscript by reading other writers? In this course, that's precisely what we will map out. Using an extensive bibliography provided by the instructor (drawn from varied writing 'manuals' and interview resources', from Ron Carlson's, to the Glimmer Train and Tin House craft workbooks, Ann Lamott, to Annie Dillard, to Alexander Chee), we will analyze and describe the types of problems that commonly arise when writing a short story. Then we will build a strategy for finding examples of how other writers solve the problem, and looking at specific story excerpts. The "revision notebook" concept will be discussed, and students will participate in 3 "reading to revise" exercises that will form the foundation for an independent revision notebook going forward.

OPTIONAL: Students with a particular piece they have been trying to revise (up to 10 pp) can submit this prior to the start of class and receive written feedback at the conclusion of the seminar from the instructor that references some of the story excerpts we will have talked about in class. If you would like to submit work ahead of time, please contact Chaya via her website, at chayabhuvaneswar.com, and she will give you instructrions for submitting work.

About GrubStreet Remote Classes

GrubStreet will be hosting all of our classes remotely from now through the month of April. We’ve decided as a staff that the best thing we can do for our community is to follow the advice of public health experts, and participate in the social distancing that’s recommended to help slow the spread of disease. You will be able to participate in class via Zoom videoconference from wherever you’re most comfortable. All you’ll need is a laptop or a phone! You’ll receive an email from your instructor on the day your class is scheduled with a link to join the class meeting via Zoom–no need to download anything or sign up for Zoom in advance! If you have questions about remote learning, please feel free to reach out to [email protected] for more information.

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.