6 Weeks, 6 Stories: The Tune of the Main Character

Class Description

Put yourself in a position to generate new work with this rapid-fire series of deadlines, readings, and feedback from peers. In this course for fiction writers, you'll use writing prompts and strict word-count limits (300-1000 words) to create six new stories—or the beginnings of stories—and submit your work for discussion. In a twist, we'll focus on a character (major or minor) you create in our first session and expand that character throughout the course as we explore a different aspect of craft each week (plot, setting, dialog, form, etc.). We'll use these elements to put characters in a variety of situations to see how they perform, perhaps change, and challenge us as writers. We'll also discuss published stories to help focus our discussion on these elements of fiction. The authors we'll read include (but are not limited to) James Baldwin, Lydia Davis, David Eagleman, Deborah Eisenberg, Tayari Jones, Cormac McCarthy, Marilynne Robinson, Zadie Smith. At the end of the course, you'll take away six stories (or beginnings) and a better understanding of craft to apply as you revise.

Please note: Class does not meet May 2nd.

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.