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Master Class with Fiona Maazel: Advanced Fiction Writing

Course is closed.

DURATION/TIME
8 weeks
Thursdays, 7-10 p.m.
February 23-April 20
(no class April 13)

LEVEL
This class is taught at an advanced level.

LOCATION
Soho

PRICE
$599 ($575 for )
more info

Course Details

You've taken your manuscript as far as you can, but you know there's another level. This workshop is for writers who are seeking to do the serious kind of revision that can bring a good idea to its fullest realization. In this workshop, novelist and former Paris Review managing editor Fiona Maazel will work with you on story arc, character, setting, voice, point of view, level of diction and, above all, the text that you have written.

Describing this course, Maazel quotes Thomas Mann: "A writer is someone for whom writing is more difficult than it is for other people." She continues: "Sound right? It is. The stakes are enormous; your forebears are oppressive; this sucks. And yet, the joys.

"We're going to workshop your fiction?likely two stories or sections from a novel, or one and a revision. Workshopping has its drawbacks, but it's not a jury. We'll talk about what works and what doesn't, and, most importantly: why. Why doesn't it work?

"Writing is a mysterious business, equal parts talent and know-how. One you can't do anything about. But the other, the other is craft, which can be learned. Dialogue, tone, pacing, point of view, tense, diction, syntax, these are your tools. They can be sharpened. So we'll be workshopping student work and also published work, by way of exploring specific feats of craft. We'll agree on what to read together, based on what you feel are your weaknesses. The class will be tailored to fit your needs; no point doing it otherwise. I will also be talking about how to get the work published. There are no guarantees, but there are some taboos. Process is its own reward, but we'd be lying if we said we didn't also want to get published."

In this workshop, you can expect:
  • To have your work discussed seriously and with compassion
  • To learn how to vet your own work?how to indict yourself, both on and off the page
  • To relish experimentation; writing is a muscle that needs exercise
  • To discuss craft?what techniques does this story deploy and why are they successful?
  • To demand of your work as much as you can, and then to demand more
  • To learn how to discuss each other's work; how well you read will always be a measure of how well you write
  • To learn how to write a good cover letter
  • To learn a few secrets of the business, some more uplifting than others

By the end of class, students can expect to have:
A complete draft of a piece of advanced fiction.

Admission Requirements
You must submit a letter of interest, including a brief work history, and a writing sample. The writing sample must not exceed 2,000 words.

Instructor Bio

Fiona Maazel's Courses

No courses available at this time.

Fiona Maazel
Fiona Maazel is the former managing editor of The Paris Review, where she routinely edited fiction by a stunning list of contemporary writers, including Rick Moody, A.S. Byatt, and Jim Shepard. Fiona is currently a freelance writer and editor. Her work has appeared in Bomb, The Boston Book Review, Feed.com, GQ, Icon, The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, The Mississippi Review, The National Post, Nerve.com, Pierogi Press, Publishers Weekly, Reader's Digest, Salon.com, Tin House, The Village Voice, and The Yale Review. She has just sold her first novel to FSG.

Testimonials

"Fiona is an excellent editor. She pointed out, to a word, where each of my stories went off course (or where it stayed on). She dedicated a generous amount of time to reading and critiquing the work of all the students. I would recommend this class to anyone who is serious about writing fiction." -- Jeanne Dickey, freelancer

Fiona Maazel has edited fiction by some of the best writers alive, and she knows what she's doing. While her class may be short on right-brain exercises and platitudes about the writer's life, it's long on stringent, practical, intelligent advice on fixing your fiction. Her insistence on linguistic precision, draconian fluff-cutting, hatred of adverbs and innumerable other insights amount to a fine set of rules to apply when writing, and especially revising, fiction. Highly recommended. -- Andy Hunter


"Fiona is an absolutely terrific instructor. Her criticism blends practical advice with a theoretical discussion to help writers gain a complete understanding of craft and how it relates to their specific work. I came away from her class not only with ideas for immediately improving my work, but also with a lot of things to think about over the course of my career." -- Travis Adkins

"Fioinna is the ideal fiction writing instructor. Her feedback works for both beginning writers and those more experienced with the workshop experience. She offers practical advice on how to improve your stories and doesn't mess around with wishy washy, relative feedback. Although she honors the creative process, it is not at the expense of following the indispensible rules of writing fiction. She also has a great sense of humor and makes everyone feel comfortable and included in her class. Her background as an editor is an invaluable asset." -- Gabrielle Mitchell-Marell

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