Intro to Fiction: Generative Workshop

To become better writers, we have to try to understand how stories work. In this class, we will generate fresh material through writing prompts and exercises. Students will then choose one piece to expand into a short story to share with the workshop.

In addition to reading each other's work, we will also read at least one published story for each class and examine how these stories are made by focusing on the building blocks of fiction (character, tension, dialogue, setting). This attention to craft will teach us the fundamentals of how great fiction works, so we will be better equipped to tell our own stories compellingly.

By the end of this class, students will be able to understand and analyze a wider variety of fiction, offer constructive, specific feedback, draft an original short story and substantially revise their own fiction.
Instructor: Alida Dean is a graduate of the University of Montana's MFA program and the University of Cincinnati's PhD program in Creative Writing. Her stories can be found in Big Fiction, Litbreak, Nashville Review, Ninth Letter, and Soft Punk, among other venues. She currently lives in Ithaca, New York, where she works at The Saltonstall Foundation for the Arts.

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Details: Intro to Fiction: Generative Workshop takes place Mondays May 22, (no class on May 29), June 5, June 12, June 19, June 26, and July 3 from 6:30-8:30pm remotely online via Zoom.

Prerequisites: None

Genre: Fiction

Level: Emerging

Format: Generative workshop with writing in class and outside of class and group sharing.

Location: This class takes place remotely online via Zoom.

Size: Limited to 12 participants (including scholarships).

Suggested Sequence: Follow this class with another generative fiction writing workshop or a feedback course.

Scholarships: Two scholarship spots are available for this class for writers in Northeast Ohio. Apply by April 24.

Cancellations & Refunds: Cancel at least 48 hours in advance of the first class meeting to receive a full refund. Email info@litcleveland.org.

Registration Fee

$180 - Non-Member Registration

$120 - Registration with Member Discount

I'd also like to help out other writers with a donation to the Word for Word Scholarship Fund. (This fund provides low- and limited-income writers in NE Ohio with access to our classes)

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