Class Description
Ready to try a fresh approach to the workshop? This course offers a new model for workshopping your manuscripts, using a unique, student-centered method of offering feedback. Unlike in traditional workshops, you will receive comprehensive, authentic, and synthesized written comments on your manuscript before it is discussed in class, thus eliminating any “surprise verdict” on your work. Instead of remaining silent, you and the instructor will co-lead the conversation about your story with a focus on concrete revision options. Classmates will be encouraged to incorporate content-based criticism (e.g. “how does this character challenge or reinforce stereotypes? what are the socio-cultural implications in this piece?”) with craft-based criticism (e.g. “how does the author show this character’s change over time?). All student feedback is submitted anonymously to the instructor, and writers are encouraged to bring questions rather than defenses to the critique. We will also look at some published work by authors such as Courtney Brkic, Patricia Engel, Langston Hughes, Ha Jin, James Joyce, R.O. Kwon, and Otessa Moshfegh as a basis for craft and content-based discussions. In short, this new structure aims to give the writer a stronger voice in their own critique, for readers to thoughtfully examine and learn from their initial feedback during the workshop, and for everyone to leave class with a clearer revision strategy for their work.
The goal is to write and/or revise two short stories, up to 20 pages each. While novelists may find the creation of self-contained narratives useful, workshopping novel chapters is discouraged.
NOTE: In addition to our regular evals, we will be sending out a short survey to students at the end of the course so we can obtain feedback on how this new workshop structure went. As a way to thank you for your participation, we’ve discounted the class price 10%!
Did you know that we have scholarships available for all GrubStreet classes? To apply, click the "APPLY FOR SCHOLARSHIP" button in the top right corner of this page.
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.