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  • Workshop
  • Online: Zoom
  • Adult (18+)
  • 6 Weeks

The Mystical as Metaphor: Fabulist Fiction

Apply for Scholarship
  • $395.00 Non-Member
  • $380.00 Member

Class Description

The reasons for imbuing your fiction with fabulism are endless. Perhaps you want to experiment with The Strange; perhaps the conventions of realism limit how you’re able to articulate the nuances of character and interiority; perhaps you want to incorporate ancestral knowings that don’t fit the Western understanding of what is “real.” Fabulism and its subgenres stretch what is possible in our stories, allowing us to tap into something more profound, into something that we didn’t even realize was there beneath the surface. We will explore the philosophy of fabulism and how the mystical can be leveraged as metaphor in our stories. We will then look at the mechanics of fabulism: how to write purposeful fabulism, how to artfully craft fabulist elements so they feel eerily mundane, how to boldly dive into the deep-end without losing the human-ness of character and story that resonate with your readers. Every week, we’ll read works by writers like Carmen Maria Machado, Frankie Concepcion, Lily Hoang, Megan Milks, John Keene, and George Saunders, then adopt their craft techniques in our own fabulist stories. In the last class, writers will have the opportunity to lightly workshop a new story.

Join us to generate new writing, or infuse your existing projects with fabulism. Those new and familiar with fabulism welcome!

Please note: Class does not meet Sunday, March 23rd.

Writing Roadmap: We've created a simple, goal-based writing roadmap to help you find the perfect GrubStreet course for your writing needs.

Scholarships Format/Location

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.