Class Description
You’ve started a novel draft. Maybe you just have an idea, maybe you’ve written a few chapters, or maybe you’ve written a lot but aren’t sure how it all holds together. Which character should the story follow? What kind of narrator fits? What is point of view, anyway, and how do you know when you’re getting it right?
This class is designed for writers in the early stages of drafting. Each week, we’ll focus on a key element of novel craft, like character development, scene building, conflict, and dialogue. You’ll generate new material through prompts and exercises, and we’ll offer each other feedback and support—not just on the writing itself, but also on the process. We’ll check in about struggles and victories, share strategies for staying motivated, and build momentum together.
By the end of the course, you’ll have a collection of new scenes, along with the craft skills, insight, and energy to keep going and move toward completing your draft.
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.