Fiction Writing I
GUIDE TO FICTION COURSES
Fiction Writing I is a 10-week workshop, which includes lectures, exercises, and the critiquing of student projects. It’s for beginners or anyone who wants to brush up on the fundamentals. Farther down, you can view a syllabus for this course.
Also consider Gotham’s premium Zoetrope Fiction Writing classes: Zoetrope Fiction I or Zoetrope Fiction II.
Fiction is a wonderful conjuring act. With only words and the reader’s imagination, a work of fiction can sail across the world in pursuit of a whale, or time-travel to another dimension, or zero in on a few minutes in line at the local bank, enveloping the reader in a made-up story that feels real.
To pull off this feat requires a balance of craftsmanship, daring, and insight into human nature. Here you’ll learn the time-tested elements of fiction craft and how to market your work.
Whether you seek to write short stories or novels; commercial, literary, or genre; comic or tragic, we’ll show you how to spin your thoughts into believable and spellbinding tales.
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A great course in writing, far better that any creative writing course that I have taken at a University.
Laurence Tapper
clinical laboratory scientist
Notes
Fiction I encompasses short stories and novels. After Level I, students have a choice of Short Fiction Writing II (focusing on short stories), or Novel II Critique or Novel II First Draft (focusing on novels).
If you’re working on “genre” fiction, you may take either a Fiction/Novel course or one of our genre courses: Science Fiction & Fantasy, Romance, Mystery.
If you’re working on a YA novel, you may take a Fiction/Novel or “genre” course, or you may take a Children’s Book course, where the full spectrum of children’s books will be covered.
Upcoming Classes NYC COVID Info
If you show Covid symptoms OR If you have been exposed to someone with Covid – Don’t come to class for at least 5 days after showing symptoms or exposure, and then take a test to confirm that you are negative. Let your teacher know and we’ll work to give you access to your missed classes via Zoom.
If you have any questions about this, you may call (212-974-8377) or email us ([email protected]).
10-Week
-
Online
Anytime, week-long sessions
Tuition: $439 (returning students: $409)
-
NYC
In-person
Tuition: $465 (returning students: $435)
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Zoom
Real-time videoconference
Tuition: $439 (returning students: $409)
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One-on-One
Tuition: $1,895
Syllabus
This course gives you a firm grounding in the basics of fiction craft and gets you writing a short story (or two) or a novel. Course components:
Lectures
Writing exercises
Workshopping of student projects (each student presenting work two times)
New York City/Zoom classes
The syllabus varies from teacher to teacher, term to term. Many topics will be similar to those covered in the Online classes.
Online classes
Week 1
Introduction to Fiction: The different types and forms of fiction. Where to find inspiration and ideas. The importance of craft.
Week 2
Character: Where to find characters. Making characters dimensional through desire and contrasts. Creating character profiles. Showing vs. Telling. Methods for showing characters.
Week 3
Plot: Finding a major dramatic question. Shaping a beginning, middle, and end. The difference between short story and novel plots. Pros and cons of outlining.
Week 4
Point of View: POV defined. Exploration of the many types of POV.
Week 5
Description: Using the senses. Specificity. Techniques for creativity. Finding the right words. Merging description with point of view.
Week 6
Dialogue: The importance of scene. Dialogue's illusion of reality. Quotation marks and tags. Stage directions. Summarized dialogue. Characterization through dialogue. Subtext. Dialect.
Week 7
Setting/Pacing: Time. Place. Weather. Description of setting. Merging character and setting. How to manipulate time through pacing. Flashbacks.
Week 8
Voice: Voice defined. Exploration of the various types of voice. Tips for finding your voice. Understanding style—syntax, diction, and paragraph length.
Week 9
Theme/Revision: Theme defined. Types of theme. Weaving theme into a story. Exploration of the various stages of revision.
Week 10
The Business: Proper format for manuscripts. How to target publishing houses, literary magazines, and agents. Query letters.
Note: Content may vary among individual classes.
Teachers
Arlaina Tibensky
Arlaina Tibensky is the author of the novel And Then Things Fall Apart (Simon & Schuster). Her short stories and nonfiction have appeared in One Story, SmokeLong Quarterly, Reckon Review, The Dodge Magazine, Stanchion, Thimble Lit, @TheKeepThings, The Razor, McSweeney's Internet Tendency, Madison Review, The Dinner Party Download, and New Stories from the Midwest, 2018. She has received "The Best of the Net," "Best Small Fictions," and Pushcart nominations for her flash fiction. She holds a BA from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and an MFA in Fiction from Columbia University.
Read moreCab Tran
Cab Tran has published short fiction in Vagabond: Bulgaria's English Monthly, The Oleander Review, and Black Warrior Review, among many others. He is the co-editor and translator of the anthology The Colors of April (Three Rooms Press), by and about the Vietnamese diaspora in the wake of the Vietnam War, and he is the translator, with Quan M. Ha, of the short-story collection Hanoi at Midnight by Bao Ninh (Texas Tech University Press). He co-founded the literary magazine Cedilla, has worked as a tutor with the Michigan Mentorship Program, and taught for the University of Michigan. He holds a BA from the University of Montana and an MFA in Fiction from the University of Michigan.
Read moreCleve Lamison
Cleve Lamison is the author of the science fiction novel Full-Blood Half-Breed (Penguin Random House), and he is a contributing writer to Suvudu.com, a science fiction and fantasy blog at Random House. He is consulting producer of the short film Superman Doesn't Steal, which won Best Film at the Diversity In Cannes Short Film Showcase and the A Day In the Sun Film Festival, and was selected by the Cleveland International Film Festival, among many others. He was a staff writer for the television show Craig Ross Jr.’s Monogamy (Urban Movie Channel), and he wrote and directed the feature film Following Bliss, which won Best Feature Film at the Global Arts International Film Festival. His short film "The Story" won the Denver World Film Festival, and his short film "Jack for President" was a runner-up in the New York 24-Hour Filmmaking Contest. He was the artistic director of the BlackBird Theatre Company in NYC; created, wrote, and drew the cartoon strip Rick the Roach for the Richmond News Leader; and is a veteran of the U.S. Army Reserves. He holds a BA from Virginia Commonwealth University.
Read moreDavid Yoo
David Yoo is the author of the young adult novels Stop Me If You've Heard This One Before (Hyperion) and Girls for Breakfast (Delacorte), the middle grade novel The Detention Club (Balzer + Bray), and the essay collection The Choke Artist (Grand Central). He has published short stories and nonfiction in Massachusetts Review, Rush Hour, Maryland Review, and the anthology Guys Write for Guys Read (Viking). He is also a columnist for KoreAm Journal. He has taught at Pine Manor College, Eckerd College, and CU-Boulder. He holds a BA from Skidmore College and an MA in Creative Writing from the University of Colorado-Boulder.
Read moreDivya Sood
Divya Sood is the author of the novels Find Someone to Love and Nights Like This (both Riverdale Avenue Books). Her short stories have won the New Jersey Arts and Letters First Prize for Short Fiction and appeared in The Masters Review. She has taught at Rutgers University and Southern New Hampshire University. She holds a BA from Rutgers University, an MA in English, and an MFA in Fiction, both from New York University.
Read moreK Hank Jost
K Hank Jost is the editor of A Common Well Journal. He is also the author of the novel MadStone and the novel-in-stories Deselections (both Whiskey Tit Books). His short stories and poems have appeared in Hobart, Vol. 1 Brooklyn, the Burning Palace, X-R-A-Y Lit Mag, and BULL, among others, and he is a regular contributor to the New Haven Independent. He has taught for the Brooklyn Center for Theatre Research.
Read moreOmari Chancellor
Omari Chancellor has published short fiction in Vol. 1 Brooklyn, Brainwxsh, Still Life, and Soft Punk. He wrote and directed the short films The One, which appeared in several film festivals including the Ohio Valley Film Festival, and SwimLessons for The Believer magazine. He has taught at Spotlight Kids NY and the 52nd Street Project. He holds a BFA from Roanoke College and an MFA from New York University.
Read morePhilip Cioffari
Philip Cioffari is the author of the novels Night and Its Longings, If Anyone Asks, Say I Died From the Heartbreaking Blues, The Bronx Kill, Jesusville, Catholic Boys, and Dark Road, Dead End, as well as the short story collection A History of Things Lost or Broken, (all Livingston Press/University of West Alabama). His short fiction has appeared in the Southern Humanities Review, the Westchester Review, the North American Review, the Connecticut Review, Italian Americana, and been anthologized in Wild Dreams (Fordham University Press), 100 Percent Pure Florida Fiction (University of Florida Press), and Many Lights in Many Windows (Milkweed Editions). His plays have been staged or received staged readings at The Actors Studio, the Belmont Playhouse, the Gettysburg College New Plays Festival, and the Circle Repertory Lab, among many others. He wrote and directed the feature film Love in the Age of Dion, which won Best Director at the New York Independent Film and Video Festival, played at many film festivals including the Rhode Island International Film Festival and the Wildwood-By-The-Sea Festival, and was selected for the New Filmmakers NY series. He teaches at William Paterson University. He holds a Ph.D from New York University.
Read moreScott Alexander Hess
Scott Alexander Hess is the author of five novels, including Skyscraper, a Lambda Literary Award Finalist, The Butcher's Sons, named a Kirkus Reviews Best Book of 2015 (both Lethe Press), and the novellas, A Season in Delhi, The Root of Everything & Lightning (all Rebel Satori Press). His work has appeared in HuffPost, Genre Magazine, The Fix, and Thema Literary Review. He co-wrote “Tom in America,” an award-winning short film, and curates Hot Lit, an LGBTQ+ themed monthly newsletter. He holds a BJ from the University of Missouri-Columbia and an MFA in Fiction from The New School.
Read moreSerrana Laure Gay
Serrana Laure Gay has published short stories in Sinister Wisdom, the North Dakota Quarterly, X-R-A-Y Literary Magazine, Red Noise Collective, Big Bend Literary Magazine, Silver Rose Magazine, and Prometheus Dreaming. She is the author of the illustrated book Fatty Fatty No Friends (Mind the Art Entertainment), adapted from her operetta of the same name, which was winner of the Best of Fest prize at the New York Musical Theatre Festival. Her plays have been workshopped or appeared at the New York International Fringe Festival, Joe’s Pub at the Public Theatre, the National Opera Center, the Frigid NY theatre festival, the HERE Arts Center, and Feinstein’s 54 Below. She has taught at the Sarah Lawrence College Writing Institute. She holds a BFA from Ithaca College and an MFA in Writing from Sarah Lawrence College.
Read moreis the author of the novel And Then Things Fall Apart (Simon & Schuster). Her short stories and nonfiction have appeared in One Story, SmokeLong Quarterly, Reckon Review, The Dodge Magazine, Stanchion, Thimble Lit, @TheKeepThings, The Razor, McSweeney's Internet Tendency, Madison Review, The Dinner Party Download, and New Stories from the Midwest, 2018. She has received "The Best of the Net," "Best Small Fictions," and Pushcart nominations for her flash fiction. She holds a BA from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and an MFA in Fiction from Columbia University.
has published short fiction in Vagabond: Bulgaria's English Monthly, The Oleander Review, and Black Warrior Review, among many others. He is the co-editor and translator of the anthology The Colors of April (Three Rooms Press), by and about the Vietnamese diaspora in the wake of the Vietnam War, and he is the translator, with Quan M. Ha, of the short-story collection Hanoi at Midnight by Bao Ninh (Texas Tech University Press). He co-founded the literary magazine Cedilla, has worked as a tutor with the Michigan Mentorship Program, and taught for the University of Michigan. He holds a BA from the University of Montana and an MFA in Fiction from the University of Michigan.
is the author of the science fiction novel Full-Blood Half-Breed (Penguin Random House), and he is a contributing writer to Suvudu.com, a science fiction and fantasy blog at Random House. He is consulting producer of the short film Superman Doesn't Steal, which won Best Film at the Diversity In Cannes Short Film Showcase and the A Day In the Sun Film Festival, and was selected by the Cleveland International Film Festival, among many others. He was a staff writer for the television show Craig Ross Jr.’s Monogamy (Urban Movie Channel), and he wrote and directed the feature film Following Bliss, which won Best Feature Film at the Global Arts International Film Festival. His short film "The Story" won the Denver World Film Festival, and his short film "Jack for President" was a runner-up in the New York 24-Hour Filmmaking Contest. He was the artistic director of the BlackBird Theatre Company in NYC; created, wrote, and drew the cartoon strip Rick the Roach for the Richmond News Leader; and is a veteran of the U.S. Army Reserves. He holds a BA from Virginia Commonwealth University.
is the author of the young adult novels Stop Me If You've Heard This One Before (Hyperion) and Girls for Breakfast (Delacorte), the middle grade novel The Detention Club (Balzer + Bray), and the essay collection The Choke Artist (Grand Central). He has published short stories and nonfiction in Massachusetts Review, Rush Hour, Maryland Review, and the anthology Guys Write for Guys Read (Viking). He is also a columnist for KoreAm Journal. He has taught at Pine Manor College, Eckerd College, and CU-Boulder. He holds a BA from Skidmore College and an MA in Creative Writing from the University of Colorado-Boulder.
is the author of the novels Find Someone to Love and Nights Like This (both Riverdale Avenue Books). Her short stories have won the New Jersey Arts and Letters First Prize for Short Fiction and appeared in The Masters Review. She has taught at Rutgers University and Southern New Hampshire University. She holds a BA from Rutgers University, an MA in English, and an MFA in Fiction, both from New York University.
is the editor of A Common Well Journal. He is also the author of the novel MadStone and the novel-in-stories Deselections (both Whiskey Tit Books). His short stories and poems have appeared in Hobart, Vol. 1 Brooklyn, the Burning Palace, X-R-A-Y Lit Mag, and BULL, among others, and he is a regular contributor to the New Haven Independent. He has taught for the Brooklyn Center for Theatre Research.
has published short fiction in Vol. 1 Brooklyn, Brainwxsh, Still Life, and Soft Punk. He wrote and directed the short films The One, which appeared in several film festivals including the Ohio Valley Film Festival, and SwimLessons for The Believer magazine. He has taught at Spotlight Kids NY and the 52nd Street Project. He holds a BFA from Roanoke College and an MFA from New York University.
is the author of the novels Night and Its Longings, If Anyone Asks, Say I Died From the Heartbreaking Blues, The Bronx Kill, Jesusville, Catholic Boys, and Dark Road, Dead End, as well as the short story collection A History of Things Lost or Broken, (all Livingston Press/University of West Alabama). His short fiction has appeared in the Southern Humanities Review, the Westchester Review, the North American Review, the Connecticut Review, Italian Americana, and been anthologized in Wild Dreams (Fordham University Press), 100 Percent Pure Florida Fiction (University of Florida Press), and Many Lights in Many Windows (Milkweed Editions). His plays have been staged or received staged readings at The Actors Studio, the Belmont Playhouse, the Gettysburg College New Plays Festival, and the Circle Repertory Lab, among many others. He wrote and directed the feature film Love in the Age of Dion, which won Best Director at the New York Independent Film and Video Festival, played at many film festivals including the Rhode Island International Film Festival and the Wildwood-By-The-Sea Festival, and was selected for the New Filmmakers NY series. He teaches at William Paterson University. He holds a Ph.D from New York University.
is the author of five novels, including Skyscraper, a Lambda Literary Award Finalist, The Butcher's Sons, named a Kirkus Reviews Best Book of 2015 (both Lethe Press), and the novellas, A Season in Delhi, The Root of Everything & Lightning (all Rebel Satori Press). His work has appeared in HuffPost, Genre Magazine, The Fix, and Thema Literary Review. He co-wrote “Tom in America,” an award-winning short film, and curates Hot Lit, an LGBTQ+ themed monthly newsletter. He holds a BJ from the University of Missouri-Columbia and an MFA in Fiction from The New School.
has published short stories in Sinister Wisdom, the North Dakota Quarterly, X-R-A-Y Literary Magazine, Red Noise Collective, Big Bend Literary Magazine, Silver Rose Magazine, and Prometheus Dreaming. She is the author of the illustrated book Fatty Fatty No Friends (Mind the Art Entertainment), adapted from her operetta of the same name, which was winner of the Best of Fest prize at the New York Musical Theatre Festival. Her plays have been workshopped or appeared at the New York International Fringe Festival, Joe’s Pub at the Public Theatre, the National Opera Center, the Frigid NY theatre festival, the HERE Arts Center, and Feinstein’s 54 Below. She has taught at the Sarah Lawrence College Writing Institute. She holds a BFA from Ithaca College and an MFA in Writing from Sarah Lawrence College.