Class Description
First impressions matter in life and in fiction. The opening of your novel is the first time readers meet your book—and decide if they like it. To turn a browser into a reader, your first pages must include several key story elements, which we will explore in our first lesson by analyzing successful opening pages in class.
We’ll detail an opening pages “checklist” with the reasoning behind each component. Then, in the following weeks, students will have their opening pages workshopped, receiving in-class feedback from the instructor and fellow students. Each student will be expected to revise those pages outside of class and resubmit for a second round of workshopping.
This is an advanced course intended for writers who have taken craft lessons and are confident in their draft. This is ideal for students who have a completed draft and are in the revision/polishing stages.
Writing Roadmap: We've created a simple, goal-based writing roadmap to help you find the perfect GrubStreet course for your writing needs.
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.