Class Description
Class Description:
Let’s create magic systems, world maps, and pantheons of gods in this week of world-making and writing! We’ll have short readings and specific prompts to generate new ideas for speculative fiction stories which include some element of unreality. You can also work on outlines, world-notes, and scene writing for projects in progress such as a novel. We’ll learn about aspects of worldbuilding and how they can help us flesh out character arcs. Magical elements can also help us to understand our world, so we’ll experiment with stories that are only slightly strange and tilt our perception of reality through magical realism and fabulism. We’ll focus on describing worldbuilding elements for the reader without being overwhelming, and we’ll study character arcs through the Hero and Heroine’s journey, and story structures like Literary Alchemy and Soul Triptychs. For writers age 13 - 18 ONLY.
Class takeaways:
You’ll have outlines for SFF short stories or novels following mythic journeys or alchemical stages, scenes written to in-class prompts, and feedback from small groups.
Note About Our NEW Class Format:
We’ve made our remote classes more flexible than ever — with plenty of optional portions designed to allow for screen breaks — while still keeping us connected as a writing community. Learn more.
How Remote Learning works:
This class will be hosted remotely! You will be able to participate in class via Zoom video conference 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!
For parents registering their teens:
*Note: Parents/guardians must complete this permission form online if your teen is under 18.* Unlike previous forms, you only need to fill this out ONE TIME, not for every class. If you cannot remember whether you have already filled it out, please email [email protected] and we will check for you!
If you do not complete the form, registrations could be voided and the cancellation policy will apply. If the student is 18, simply let us know at [email protected].
*If you are registering on behalf of your teen, add their email information in the “For a Friend or Child?” field on the right-hand side of the screen before you check out. This will send them a direct link and reminder to create their own profile with GrubStreet.
(After adding the class to your cart, click "Checkout" and click “Add” next to “For a Friend or Child?” on the right-hand side to fill in their email. This is an easy way of linking the class to your child and encourages them to create their own account.)
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.