Story and Structure: A Creative Writing Workshop (online class) – class full

Instructor: Deborah Harris
$160 Members | $175 Nonmembers
Thursdays, 1/12/23 – 3/2/23 | 1:00 – 3:00 p.m. EST

“A story…makes its meaning…a small structural pulse at a time. We read a bit of text and a set of expectations arises…”

George Saunders, A Swim in a Pond in the Rain 

In this class, we’ll practice the art of structuring narrative, of ordering bits of text so that movement toward a story’s final outcome feels inexorable.

With an eye on craft, we’ll read short pieces and excerpts (fiction, non-fiction, poetry) by a variety of writers. We’ll look at pattern and repetition and how they can support increasing tension and escalation. We’ll dig into causality and meaning, transitions in time and space, the effects of voice and narration. 

You’ll write and workshop a variety of short (3-page) exercises that explore story and structure. You’ll have the option of generating new work or revising work already in progress.

Memoirs, novels, short stories and personal essays are welcome. 

Deborah’s work has appeared in Dissent Magazine, The Southampton Review, and Five on the Fifth. She earned her MALS in literature from Wesleyan University and MFA in fiction writing from Sarah Lawrence College. She currently teaches creative writing at the Hudson River Community Education program in Dobbs Ferry, New York. 

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This class is full.