Class Description
Beginning a novel is immensely exciting. You have so much to say, such wonderful characters to explore, a situation that begs to be developed. But before you know it, you find yourself with loose threads, tangents, and characters who are becoming unrecognizable or simply disappearing before your eyes. What do you do?
In this class we will discuss strategies for developing your novel so that the essential first third sets up what is to come. We will explore ways in which structural underpinnings can guide you, and we will also look at indicators of direction such as point of view, characterization, setting, and voice. In addition, we will discuss ways of incorporating backstory so that it is integrated into the narrative and does not interrupt momentum. And all along, we will be looking at our own work; each student will have two opportunities to submit 25 pages to be workshopped in class.
Recommended for students with a full first draft of a novel, students who prefer to plan and outline their work either before or as they write, and students who are ready for more detailed workshopping experience of their early pages.
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.