Class Description
*Note: Parents/guardians must complete this permission form online if your teen is under 18.* Unlike previous forms, you only need to fill this out ONE TIME, not for every class. If you cannot remember whether you have already filled it out, please email [email protected] and we will check for you!
If you do not complete the form, registrations could be voided and the cancellation policy will apply. If the student is 18, simply let us know at [email protected]
Class Description:
This class will explore fiction that follows branching paths and multiple endings. From Jorge Luis Borges’ “Garden of Forking Paths”, to Choose Your Own Adventure and Goosebumps, to Black Mirror’s “Bandersnatch”, to video games like Life is Strange and Mass Effect, and tabletop role playing games like Dungeons and Dragons, writers have found new ways to tell stories that can follow more than one linear path. This type of fiction is where the reader can choose how the story unfolds, and becomes a collaborator with the author. In this class, we will practice designing and writing stories that will become your own gardens of forking paths.
This day-long workshop is intended for young writers of all experience levels, whether or not they’ve heard of hyperfiction, or if it’s their favorite genre. Through a series of generative exercises, we’ll begin planning and plotting some nonlinear stories. We’ll also check out the free app Twine, an open source online tool for writing interactive stories. Laptops or other computers are welcome in this class but definitely not required.
Takeaways:
By the end of this class, you will come away with an outline or plan of a new piece of hyperfiction, some conceptual ideas and tools for planning nonlinear stories, and you will have met a group of writer peers who share your interest in pushing the limits of fiction.
Who Should Register?
For writers ages 13 - 18 ONLY. Writing notebooks are available, but feel free to bring your own.
Remember, parents/guardians must also complete this permission form online before the start of the class. Otherwise, registrations could be voided and the cancellation policy will apply. If the student is 18, simply let us know at [email protected]
*If you are registering on behalf of your teen, add their email information in the “For a Friend or Child?” field on the right-hand side of the screen before you check out. This will send them a direct link and reminder to create their own profile with GrubStreet.
(After adding the class to your cart, click "Checkout" and click “Add” next to “For a Friend or Child?” on the right-hand side to fill in their email. This is an easy way of linking the class to your child and encourages them to create their own account.)
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.