Class Description
Everybody has a story, but not every story makes sense as a narrative. For that, you need revision, editing, and invention. This class will teach students how to shape the facts of a true family story into exciting, tension-filled fiction. We will discuss the key elements of narrative, and then students will do some brainstorming/worksheets on their own family stories to identify the ways in which they can turn their facts into good fiction. By the end of the class, students will have a better sense of what to keep, lose, or change, and they will have a rough beginning and a clearer way forward for their narratives. Students should come to class with notes for their own family story.
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.