Class Description
Counterintuitive as it seems, writing with language constraints and writing prompts—that is to say, limiting the colors on your writing palette—allow for a new-found writing freedom and, as a bonus, the crafting of unexpected, surprising pieces. Think of the lipogrammatic French novel, A Void, by Georges Perec, a conventional mystery novel written without the omnipresent letter “e.” When one can’t rely on one’s “go-to” words, one must explore creative alternatives, opening up exciting possibilities.
In this workshop, we will generate “low-stakes” writing–using both language constraints and prompts–often producing the most fertile seeds for stories and poems, which you’ll probably want to develop in the future. Authors we’ll read, who have used this type of methodology, include Italo Calvino, Harryette Mullen, Kenneth Goldsmith, and Tyrone Williams. We will, additionally, metawrite on our process and practice when we follow the dictates of the writing exercises. And, of course, we will share the results of our labors. Participants will go home with a handful of language constraints and writing prompts to try at home. This workshop is designed for anyone who is interested in engaging in the dangerous and thrilling laboratory of writing—beginning, intermediate, and advanced writers invited.
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.