Anthologies

There’s always more to learn, fiction writers! Come build on the skills you’ve already got, and dig deeper into the qualities that give all the best stories that extra POP.

Whichever genre of fiction you prefer (historical, fantasy, realistic, etc.) is welcome! We’ll focus on the fine details that will take your writing from good to great: natural, character-driven dialogue; proper pacing; inciting incidents; raising the stakes; plot-twists; and, of course, the art of the satisfying ending. We’ll look to our favorite fiction writers for inspiration, and discover new works worthy of your attention.

This workshop is for students who are familiar with the basics of fiction writing, and who would like to grow as writers.

When you daydream, does your pen run free? In The Shape of a Story, those in-the-moment doodles and random drawings can be the start of something epic. Here, your abstract blobs, kitty-unicorn-whale hybrids, and silly faces, go into a visual storytelling laboratory that we build together. We’ll transform accidental shapes into creatures, creatures into characters, characters into worlds, and worlds into absolutely original stories.

Writing and illustration don’t have to live in separate worlds! When we put them together, our creativity goes off the charts. Join us in The Shape of a Story and totally transform. So storytelling scientists, what will come out of your creative lab?

We’re calling on the brave and bold for a writing adventure! This semester we’ll be writing stories that have multiple choices for the reader - different storylines lead them down alternative paths or to alternative endings. We’ll take inspiration from a few examples like Jason Shiga’s "Meanwhile" and Ryan North’s "To be or not to be", then we’ll build worlds of our own. We’ll dig into key writing techniques and learn some new approaches while we forge our own way – whether it be fiction or nonfiction, the choice is yours. Which way will your adventure go?