Class Description
You've laid the framework of your world. You have the map, the journey outline, the spaceship blueprints, and now it's time to move your hero toward catharsis, your first draft toward completion! We'll begin by reading a sample of your manuscript, so the group can become well-acquainted with your world. Class will then be divided into craft discussion, workshop, and narrative exercises with a particular focus on finding your finish line. By the end of the course, you should have a concrete plan for completing your draft, or, depending on where you are in the process, a full first draft.
All speculative genres and subgenres are welcome: steampunk, urban fantasy, magical realism—anything possible or impossible! Authors whose work we’ll read and discuss may include: Margaret Atwood, Ray Bradbury, Octavia E. Butler, Junot Díaz, Frank Herbert, Ursula K. Le Guin, JK Rowling, Tananarive Due, Carmen Maria Machado, Gabriel García Márquez, J.R.R. Tolkien. This class is designed for intermediate to advanced speculative fiction writers who have workshop experience and a project underway. You’ll be expected to focus on one project and to generate material for that project each week.
Please note: This class will skip April 8th for the Muse and the Marketplace conference.
Did you know that we have scholarships available for all GrubStreet classes? To apply, click the "APPLY FOR SCHOLARSHIP" button in the top right corner of this page. In order to be considered for a scholarship, you must complete your scholarship application and await our Scholarship Committee's decision before registering for the class. Scholarships cannot be applied retroactively.
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.