Class Description
Ernest Hemingway had a theory that a good story is like an iceberg - meaning we only see one-eighth of what is there, yet because it is so richly designed, the reader feels the immensity of everything that rests under the surface. The key to creating Hemingway’s iceberg is to do the work and build your world before putting pen to paper.
In this six-hour seminar, writers will learn the fundamentals of world building and begin the process. Through a series of brainstorming sessions and writing exercises, writers will create the rules, set the scene, map the world and uncover the history of their uncharted land. Writers will share pieces of what they have created and receive peer and instructor feedback.
For prose or screenplay writers of science-fiction, fantasy, young adult, horror, historical or any writer looking to give their story a richer and more completely imagined setting.
Susan Collins (The Hunger Games)
JK Rowling (Harry Potter)
George R.R. Martin (Game of Thrones)
Leigh Bardugo (Six of Crows)
Tomi Adeyami (Children of Blood and Bone)
George Lucas (Star Wars)
Neil Gaiman (American Gods)
Pendleton Ward (Adventure Time)
Rebecca Sugar (Steven Universe)
Ryan Coogler (Black Panther)
Haruki Murakami (1Q84)
Guillermo Del Toro (Pan's Labyrinth)
Ursula k. LeGuin (Earthsea series, Lathe of Heaven)
This class will be hosted using live Zoom meetings! 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! About 15 minutes before your class is scheduled to begin, you'll receive an email from your instructor 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.
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.