Creating New Worlds in Fiction

Class Description

Whether it’s science fiction or autofiction, flash fiction or a series of novels, every story needs to build a world their reader can believe in. And a story’s setting is much more than just a backdrop—it is geography and history, politics and culture, language and ideas—and fully imagining our story worlds can help us writers better understand the characters who inhabit them, and develop plots rich with novelty and surprise. In this seminar, we will talk about how we can design settings our readers can believe in, and harness the worlds we create to explore the bounds of what is possible for our stories. You’ll hear advice from N. K. Jemison and Charles Yu, look at examples by Weike Wang, Annie Proulx and Samuel Beckett, and develop new worlds of your own via a series of writing exercises. Whether you want to enhance the world of an existing story, or build a new one from scratch, you will emerge armed with concrete strategies for how to imagine a whole universe into being.

Class Format

This class will take place using Zoom videoconferencing. 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!

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.