Find new depths to your writing in a radical, anti-workshop workshop with award-winning writer C Pam Zhang!
This course is for advanced fiction writers who want the rigor of an MFA program combined with a radically humanist approach to thinking about work-in-progress as truly in progress: malleable, thrillingly alive with potential, and containing the seeds of its own “aboutness.” This course is particularly well-suited to writers who feel they have hit a wall in their writing; writers who have the beginnings of a novel and want ideas for how to proceed; and writers who have had negative experiences with soliciting feedback in the past.
Together, we will practice a radical model of workshopping that begins with a “do no harm” policy, and proceeds with true curiosity and respect for the writing’s inherent intelligence. Workshops should feel exciting. They will, in this class, become sites of discovery where the writer plumbs the depths in their manuscript that they hadn’t been able to see on their own. In addition to workshopping, you will also read published fiction; explore generative writing techniques; and form accountability groups in which you build support systems with fellow students beyond the classroom.
Virtual Info Session
ZOOM
Wednesday, January 22, 8pm ET
Meet C Pam Zhang, instructor for our Fiction Intensive workshop, and have all your questions about the program answered! The Writer’s Center staff will be on hand, too, to address any logistical questions.
Workshops
We will begin the course by learning a new approach to workshopping that assumes that the work, however rough and early-stage, has an innate intelligence. We will identify the work’s inherent “aboutness,” creating a space of inquiry and true curiosity in which the writer is empowered to direct the conversation. We will unlearn harmful workshop techniques we may have encountered in the past, and build a malleable practice that adapts to suit the individual writer. This workshop model is inspired by choreographer Liz Lerman, George Saunders, tarot, etc.
Each student will have several chances to workshop their writing. For longer projects, such as novels, we will adapt the format.
Generative Exercises
Students will receive writing exercises about understanding characters, outlining, heat mapping, jumping through time and POV, intentional failure, intuitive list-making, writing into fear, and more. Techniques inspired by writers writers such as Alexander Chee, Laura van den Berg, Lauren Groff, Charles Yu, and more.
Accountability Groups
Students will form self-directed accountability groups. Groups might decide to text once a week about what was most enjoyable, or hold silent Zoom writing sessions, or text “yes” at 10 every night, or track word count. Students will be guided toward identifying the accountability practices that are best suited to them.
1:1 Mentoring
Each student will have private mentoring sessions with Zhang.
Professionalization
At the end of the course, we will discuss querying agents, publishing, and a writing career. Students will have a chance to see successful query letters from published writers, and workshop their own query letters.
Schedule
This class meets via Zoom every other Monday, February 10, 2025 – Dec 15, 2025, for a total of 20 sessions, with breaks for holidays and dedicated writing periods. Between Zoom meetings, participants can expect readings and assignments.
To Apply
Application Deadline: February 1, 2025
Send a cover letter and writing sample of 5-20 pages to laura.spencer@writer.org by February 1. Admissions will be on a rolling basis so participants are encouraged to submit early.
Acceptance into the workshop is required before registering.
