Class Description
In this advanced novel class spanning five months, you will come with an idea for a novel and leave with both a solid start on a draft and a plan for how to continue. This class is ideal for those who may eventually participate in the Novel Generator or Novel Incubator program.
The first section of class will focus on planning and outlining a new or early-stage novel. Together, we’ll study craft strategies from writers such as Ocean Vuong, Octavia Butler, Emily Henry, Cristina Rivera Garza, and others. In-class exercises will help clarify your story idea and approach. We’ll also workshop ideas, structures, and craft elements such as point of view, narrative stance, and scene-building.
The second section will emphasize drafting, guided by your outline and supplemented with ongoing planning touchpoints. Goals include writing or revising at least 40 pages, and workshopping your pages (10–11 per week) with real-time feedback from peers and the instructor. Each student will also have a one-on-one conference midway through the course, and at the end, may submit up to 30 pages of new or revised work for written feedback.
Please note: Class does not meet Wednesday, February 18th.
Important dates: The application deadline for this class is Wednesday, December 10th. All applicants can expect to hear back by within one week of the application deadline. The payment deadline for admitted students is Wednesday, December 17th.
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.