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Novel Writing: Advanced

Workshop your novel with a published author

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Novel Writing: Advanced

WHEN 12 weeks, October 23 - January 29
Online chats: Thursdays, 9-10 pm EST

WHERE Online. Click here for information.

LEVEL Advanced

PRICE
$610 ($575 for )
more info

Course Details

You're writing a novel. You've moved past the stage of needing encouragement and inspiration -- what you need now is feedback. This course functions as an online workshop, with the emphasis on sharing your work for review and providing critique for others. Posted lectures will respond to issues raised in the weekly discussions.

Join a group of fellow writers as you alternate sharing 15 pages every other week, led by a writer who has published two novels and has extensive experience with the workshopping process.

We'll look at big-picture issues like plotting, as well as detailed issues like language and character. You'll share your novel's outline with the class at the outset, so everyone knows where your book is heading, and then go from there. During the week, you can chat or post discussions with the other students about craft issues -- or just to share what a crazy, frustrating, magical experience it is to write. Get experience in peer review that can carry over outside the class, as you network and create ties that just might result in a writers group. On two occasions, the instructor will line-edit several of your paragraphs to show you how a publisher might zero in on your prose.

In this class, you will learn:

  • How to listen to, critique, and decide if/how to incorporate what you hear
  • How to stick to a dedicated schedule of posting your work
  • How to decide what to post and see what portions of your writing you're most tentative about
  • How editors might look at your writing
  • How to assist others in making a stronger novel, and how that will help your own work

By the end of class, you will:
Have workshopped up to 75 pages of your novel and developed patterns to improve your writing

Students who have taken this class have published:
Total Knockout: Tale of an Ex-Class President (Simon & Schuster), House and Home (Voice), and more

Admission requirements:
Please submit a letter of interest (including a brief work history) and a writing sample (less than 2,000 words).

The online classroom has several interactive components:

  • Instructors post lectures once a week. You can read them online, print them, or download them at your convenience.
  • Students post completed assignments for feedback and discussion by the instructor and class.
  • Weekly chats allow your class to get together via instant message. Transcripts are available for review if you can't attend.
  • Technical support is available from mediabistro staff.

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Instructor Bio

Erika Mailman's Courses

Novel Writing: Advanced – (Class starts January 14)

Erika Mailman
Erika Mailman is the author of The Witch's Trinity (Random House, 2007), a novel about a medieval woman accused of witchcraft, and Woman of Ill Fame (Heyday Books, 2007), about a Gold Rush prostitute. She has also published two non-fiction books about Oakland history, and is a columnist for the Montclarion newspaper in Oakland. She is a graduate of the MFA program in poetry at the University of Arizona, Tucson. She has taught creative writing at the University of Arizona, the Tucson Open University, and others. Her first novel took her eight years to write and is unpublishable. She figured out how to outline, and wrote the first draft of her second novel in one month--and it's now in print.

Testimonials


Erika's example, encouragement, acuity, and good humor inspired every writer in our class and helped to keep us focused on our goal. Time and money well spent. -- Bradley Owens

"Erika is an insightful reader and is also able to bring her real-world experience to matters of craft and discussions about the business of writing. Any writer who takes Erika's class is in excellent hands." -- Drew Mayer

"Erika is a smart, savvy instructor. I've enjoyed her lectures, critiques, and support. I would sign up for any class she teaches." -- Portia Stewart

"Erika is an excellent instructor who provides helpful feedback in an engaging and fun manner. She knows how to motivate her students and is willing to share personal anecdotes when appropriate." -- Sandra Seligsohn

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