Class Description
Speculative fiction harnesses the strange, the eerie, and the fantastical to tell great stories. But how can speculation and surrealism have a place in nonfiction? The answer is that daydreaming, invention, and fantasy are a part of your life every day, and they can elaborate on and reinforce the narrative truths of your nonfiction. In this six-hour class, we’ll look at ways nonfiction writers have used truth-seeking speculation, not to reinvent the past or to lie about it, but to capture the most elusive experiences. We’ll also do exercises to help you find ways to add speculation, fantasy, and invention to your own stories. Bring a nonfiction piece you’ve struggled with, or one that you think might benefit from speculative creative writing. If you’d rather start on something new, you can use class exercises to write seeds that may grow into essays. At the end of the day you will have a fresh take on nonfiction and a new tool to use in your work.
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.
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!
Zoom Participation:
Students are not required to turn their camera on, but are encouraged to participate any way they feel comfortable through functions such as the live chat, emoji reactions, and unmuting the microphone. Learn more about using Zoom here.
Zoom Accessibility:
We ask that instructors enable closed captioning and send a transcript of the session after class. You can also enable closed captioning at any time during the meeting. If your instructor forgets to send the transcript, just send ’em an email!