Fabulist Fiction

Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Mysteries, Young Adult, Magical Realism & More.

Instructor: Nick Mamatas                                                     

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Exciting plots and larger-than-life characters are the cornerstones of popular fiction and the emphasis of this course. Whether you’re writing romance, mystery, science fiction, or suspense, the principles of writing popular fiction — interesting prose, characters with whom we can empathize, and a story that moves — are key.

In this course, we’ll workshop your short stories and novel chapters, explore the history of the genres, perform writing and idea-generating exercises, and discuss the magazines and publishers looking for your sort of fiction. The goal is to give you a solid grounding in the demands of popular fiction from an editorial point of view, and a better understanding of your favorite genres.

 

Nick Mamatas

Nick Mamatas is the author of seven novels, over one hundred short stories, and dozens of essays and articles. His books include the novels Love is the Law and The Last Weekend, the short fiction collection The Nickronomicon, and the how-to guide for writing short fiction and non-fiction, Starve Better. Nick’s short fiction has appeared in Best American Mystery Stories, Asimov’s Science Fiction, New Haven Review, and many other anthologies and journals. He has written about writing for The Writer, Fine Books & Collections, and Wonderbook. His anthologies include the award-winning Haunted Legends (co-edited with Ellen Datlow) and The Future Is Japanese (co-edited with Masumi Washington.)

Testimonials:

“Nick is an electrifying lecturer. Each of his classes was an experience that left me feeling energized and excited about the prospect of returning to work. It’s hard to overstate the extent to which his lectures feel like superbly timed and carefully crafted performances. He’s obviously put far more work into developing his course than is typical for a creative writing instructor. During workshop, he gives excellent, honest, and very practical feedback. He holds you to a high standard, but he’s also encouraging, and he’s very cognizant of his responsibility to prepare writers for the realities of the publishing world. When I took his class, I was working on the stories I planned to include in my MFA applications. After eight weeks, I had a suite of stories that were where I needed them to be, and he’d also given me some practical advice on how to market my just-finished novel to potential agents. All in all, his class has everything you could possibly want: it’s both commercial and literary, practical and revelatory. Certainly equal, in terms of instruction, to the Clarion Workshop or an MFA seminar—I’d say it’s the best creative writing class I’ve ever taken.”
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-Rahul Kanakia, author of ENTER TITLE HERE, a contemporary young adult novel coming out from Disney-Hyperion in August 2016.

“Nick’s lectures are funny and his critiques are honest. He brings a unique perspective to the classroom as both a professional writer and editor. His classes are dense with thought-provoking material and he has a lot to offer writers at all levels of experience. I’m so glad I signed up.”

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–Dominca Phetteplace, author of stories in Asimov’s Science Fiction, Clarkesworld, Zyzzyva, and VICE Terraform.

Fabulist Fiction: 

Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Mysteries, Young Adult, Magical Realism & More

6 Sessions

Tuesdays 6:00-9:00 pm

October 1 – November 5, 2019

WeWork Golden Gate * 25 Taylor St.* San Francisco

Cost: $395

signup

1 thought on “Fabulist Fiction”

  1. Snapped Dry, Scraped Clean, behind the scenes | Setsu Uzume

    […] also to Nick Mamatas’s Fabulist Fiction class, for helping me streamline this piece into something […]

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