I’m teaching with Stanford Continuing Studies again this spring! Join my 10-week online speculative novel workshop The Speculative and the Fantastic!
Did you miss my speculative novel workshop with Stanford Continuing Studies in the fall? There’s now a new session of the class for a new season.
I’m teaching this online asynchronous course again this spring, and it begins March 31! The new name of the course is The Speculative and the Fantastic: Novel Workshop. (Same class; they just had me change the name to fit new naming conventions!) This course is online and flexible so you can do the assignments around your schedule, and all the details you may need to decide are below.
Registration opens Feb. 23!
If you’re interested in the class, mark your calendar and plan to register that day before spaces fill!
The Speculative and the Fantastic
Novel Workshop
with Nova Ren Suma
Online asynchronous (10 weeks)
March 31 – June 2
Tuition: $1,000
Optional Zoom meeting for live writing exercises, discussion, and Q&A: Tuesdays, 12–1 p.m. Pacific (recordings posted within 24 hours!)
Course description:
These days, readers are craving fantasy, horror, and dystopian novels
not just to escape but to confront and illuminate the deepest questions
of our time. This course invites you to indulge your imagination and
write a speculative novel of your own. Assignments will include
exercises and experiments in world-building, mood and atmosphere,
nighttime logic, and the suspension of disbelief as well as writing a
novel opening (up to 5,000 words) to be workshopped in small peer
cohorts. Excerpts for models of inspiration may include work from
authors such as Charlie Jane Anders, Marie-Helene Bertino, Tananarive
Due, Mariana Enríquez, Kazuo Ishiguro, Laila Lalami, Victor LaValle, and
Madeline Miller. Writers in all speculative genres are welcome, as are
those writing for adult, YA, or crossover audiences. Come with a project
in mind—new or in progress—and a readiness to take bold, creative
leaps.
The class is online and asynchronous:
This course requires asynchronous participation in Canvas (more details below). There will also be weekly Zoom sessions for generative writing exercises, discussion, and interaction with the instructor. It is not necessary to attend the Zoom sessions; those who can’t attend on Tuesdays can watch the recording, which will be posted within 24 hours.
Why consider this workshop?
This course is for those interested in writing speculative fiction and exploring different genres under the speculative umbrella. No matter your experience level—from advanced writers to those trying their hand at a first novel or experimenting with speculative fiction or an unfamiliar genre for the first time—you should come ready to work on the opening of a novel in the genre of your choice. This can be a new novel or a new approach in a speculative novel already in progress. This class embraces writing for all audiences including adult, YA, and crossover in any speculative genre, such as fantasy, paranormal, magical realism, fabulism, science fiction, horror, dystopian, and all genre blurs and mash-ups you might imagine.
What to expect from the coursework:
Each week kicks off with a new module in Canvas.
The first half of the quarter will feature written Craft Talks spotlighting different hallmarks of speculative fiction, optional genre-focused writing exercises, and excerpted reading from some extraordinary contemporary fantasy, science fiction, and horror novels. The Page 1 mini-workshop in Canvas toward the start of the quarter will give everyone a chance to gain some initial feedback early on.
In the second half of the quarter, students’ opening chapters will be workshopped in small cohorts in the Canvas discussion threads. Students who take part in the workshops are expected to make a manuscript deadline and offer written feedback for your peers. Students who choose not to be a part of a workshop cohort will still have an opportunity to gain feedback from the instructor.
One speculative novel of your choice will be read in full from the list of excerpted reading and a brief written reflection is due at the end of the quarter for those who want credit or a grade in this class.
Weekly Zoom sessions will be opportunities to do the writing exercises live as well as time for expanded discussion on that weeks’ theme. The final Zoom will be an open Q&A on publishing and next steps and goals for your novel.
All students who turn in the opening chapter(s) assignment will receive a letter of feedback from the instructor.
One optional individual Zoom meeting with the instructor can be scheduled in the second half of the quarter. The Zoom hours in Week Seven and Week Eight will be set aside for conferences, and a small variety of other days and times will be available to accommodate different schedules and time zones.
Is this the same class as I taught in the fall?
Essentially, yes! Most of the coursework is the same, with some updates. The biggest change is making use of the hour-long Zoom sessions each week for a deeper dive into some of the optional writing exercises, with opportunities to write in the moment. These Zoom sessions are recorded and available to watch within 24 hours, so if you can’t attend, you can still write alongside me on your own time and access the discussions and Q&A.
My preliminary syllabus will soon be up on the course page for more details and the full ten-week schedule.
Feel free to email me with any questions!