Overview

Writing Fiction with Matthew Lansburgh

What makes fiction soar? How do writers capture our attention and keep us transfixed? Our goal in this workshop will be to answer these questions. In the first part of the course, we will read a range of short stories by literary masters such as Margaret Atwood and Edward P. Jones to glean fundamental craft lessons that we can apply to our own work. We will discuss topics such as what makes characters compelling, how to craft effective dialogue, when and how to include backstory, and what kinds of openings capture readers’ attention. In short, our aim will be to develop a keen understanding of the building blocks that make literary fiction seduce, dazzle, and astonish.

During the final three weeks of the course, we will workshop student submissions using the principles established in the first three sessions. Our goal will be to help students find their own voice and also read their own work critically with an eye toward revision. Each student will have the opportunity to workshop their writing once, submitting up to 4,000 words (either a draft of a short story, the beginning of a novel, or two pieces of flash fiction).

Weeks 1 – 3: In each of the first three classes, we will read published stories (30 – 50 pages per week). Close readings of these stories will serve as the springboard for our craft discussions. Our goal will be to interrogate the authors’ decisions and distill their strategies into helpful principles. We will also strive to establish trust and common ground between participants that will serve as a helpful foundation for the second part of the course.

Week 4: No class. During this week students will finish/revise their submissions based on the craft discussions in Weeks 1 – 3.

Weeks 5 – 7: In the final three weeks, students will submit their own work for us to discuss. We will workshop four submissions per class, which will allow us sufficient time to discuss each submission in detail. Students will provide written feedback on each others’ submissions.

Though this class is open to writers of literary fiction at all levels, discussions will be rigorous and prep time will probably average 4 - 7 hours per week.

"This course has been the most valuable writing class I've ever taken. Matthew Lansburgh is a positive, generous, and open-minded instructor who encourages deep conversations and welcomes varying opinions. He keeps class discussions rooted in specific craft elements, and the published works he selects are varied and unexpected."