Class Description
Having trouble keeping the energy of your novel going through the sometimes deadly middle pages? Have no idea where or how to discover your novel’s ending? Though the opening pages grab your reader, a novel that sinks after the first third will never see the light of day. Through craft discussions, the examination of published work, and writing exercises, we will look at how a strong “signature” buttresses the “roof” of your book, and how to increase the stakes at mid-point in order to renew your reader’s interest. We will also discuss how a thorough understanding of your protagonist’s desires and wounds, as well as you own personal vision about the novel’s “premise,” determines where you should end, how, and when. By the end of the course, you will have a plan for getting back to your writing desk and renewed energy about where your novel is going. Bring your laptops or notebooks and a digital or printed copy of your novel-in-progress for reference. Part of a monthly series of 10 one-day classes for novelists at the beginning or more advanced stages of their manuscripts.
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.