Speculative Fiction Workshop: Story Journeys - Remote!

Class Description

This is your Call to Adventure: It's time to embark on a quest! In this class, we’ll combine genre-agnostic craft considerations—character, plot, structure, voice—with a focus on the specifics of speculative fiction, from slipstream to dark fantasy to far-future science fiction and everything in between. Without shying away from questions of content and theme, we'll concentrate on developing stories that engage with believability and consistency in world-building, character journeys (hero's and otherwise), speculative genre tropes, and more. We'll discuss the work of authors like Silvia Moreno-Garcia, Jac Jemc, Tomi Adeyemi, Omar El Akkad, Annalee Newitz and Nisi Shawl as role models, before diving into your stories in workshop.

This course is open to students at any point in their writing process, from first drafts or first pages, to twenty-third revisions, to that one piece you set down and finally feel ready to pick back up. Our focus will be on workshops that emphasize process, inspiration, and community through constructive and energizing feedback. Short story writers and novelists alike are welcome, as are students new to the genre. We'll use an unsilenced workshop model to give writers agency over their own processes... and we'll have a lot of fun!

This class will be hosted using live Zoom meetings! You will be able to participate in class via Zoom videoconference from wherever you’re most comfortable. All you’ll need is a laptop or a phone! About 15 minutes before your class is scheduled to begin, you'll receive an email from your instructor with a link to join the class meeting via Zoom–no need to download anything or sign up for Zoom in advance! If you have questions about remote learning, please feel free to reach out to [email protected] for more information.

For a glimpse at how remote learning works, look no further than the deep Zoom discussion of writing and literature below:

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 more detailed information about GrubStreet scholarships, including how to contribute to scholarship funds for other students, click here.