This is an online workshop that takes place via Zoom

Generating Fiction: Craft Elements for Immersive Storytelling

In this fiction writing workshop, we’ll confront the blank page head-on. This is a generative space, focused on producing new writing rather than critiquing finished work. Each session will include in-class writing exercises, opportunities to share work-in-progress, readings on the craft of fiction, and discussion of published stories from a writer’s perspective. Together, we’ll explore questions like: How do we write stories that fully immerse us and our readers? And how do we begin—or keep going—when we feel stuck?

Each week will center on a different craft element—such as dialogue, character, setting, or plot. We’ll start by discussing how that element works in a published piece, followed by a related writing exercise. Participants will be invited to share a few pages of new writing each week for supportive, constructive feedback. Our aim is to create a warm, encouraging environment for taking creative risks and exploring new directions in storytelling. Craft readings may include essays and prompts by George Saunders, Chris Offutt, Margot Livesey, and Matthew Salesses. Fiction readings may feature short stories and novel excerpts by Tessa Hadley, Danielle Evans, John Cheever, Miranda July, Kirsten Valdez Quade, and others.