Short Story Revision

Class Description

“Do not be afraid to seize whatever you have written and cut it to ribbons,” wrote E.B.White. As difficult as it is to face the blank page and write that first draft, it can be equally intimidating to confront your own writing and try to improve it. But revision does not need to be painful. You can approach it as a playful exploration of possibilities. In this course, you will try to write the first draft of your story without inhibition or self-criticism, and then, aided by your peers’ feedback, fearlessly take that rough, messy draft and craft it into brilliance.

During the course, writers have the option to produce two separate stories or submit multiple drafts of a single story. We will discuss revision techniques, how to respond to feedback, and discuss where to start when submitting short stories for publication. We will read published short stories to help guide our craft and discussion from authors such as Carmen Maria Machado, Edward P. Jones, Jhumpa Lahiri and Kathryn Scanlan.

Class Format

This is an Online: On-Demand class that will take place on our asynchronous online learning platform, Wet.Ink. Weekly lessons and assignments open each Wednesday. Students will receive an invitation to Wet Ink before 5pm on the first day of class! All video lectures for Online: On-Demand courses have closed captioning available. To enable, click "cc" on the toolbar of each video lecture.

*NOTE that while our handy dandy "Schedule" tab states a 6-7pm class time, there are actually no live meetings for this class! Weekly lessons and assignments open each Wednesday. Students will receive an invitation to Wet Ink, our online class platform, before 5pm on the first day of class.

Scholarship Information

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.