Fantastic Extremes: The Environments of Speculative Fiction

Class Description

The worlds of speculative fiction (sci-fi, fantasy, dystopia, apocalypse, steampunk, cyberpunk, and more) are worlds of ecological extremes. Winters that last years. Geological processes controlled by magic. Entire desert planets or glacial planets. Post-apocalyptic wastelands. The most memorable environments from these genres become characters in their respective stories, capture our imaginations with their unfamiliar rules, and generate tension within the plot. As genre writers, we are tasked with world-building the strangeness of these environments while making them feel true, grounded in the sensory and emotional experiences of our characters.

This class will offer concrete tools for building fantastic environments, including defamiliarization exercises, sensory and memory work, character perspective work, and ecological world-building sequences. We will read through sample passages from great speculative writers and discuss the craft, philosophy, and sociopolitical implications of the environments we create. Together, we will take the time to dwell in the physical realities of our imagined worlds and render them vividly.

This is a generative class, and students should expect to leave with new scene sketches, new imagined environments, or with environmental sketches that they can turn toward their existing projects. Writers discussed may include Octavia E. Butler, N.K. Jemisin, Rebecca Roanhorse, Ursula K. LeGuin, Isaac Yuen, Gaston Bachelard, Jake Skeets, and J.R.R. Tolkien.

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 detailed information about GrubStreet scholarships, including how to contribute to scholarship funds for other students, click here.