You have a story to tell—maybe you’ve drafted it, revised it once or twice, and still something feels off. The language doesn’t quite sing, and you’re not sure which techniques will bring it fully to life.
“Good prose fiction doesn’t write itself,” says instructor Andy Touhy. “And it can’t move your readers to feel unless it’s crafted well. Your readers must be in good hands to hear the song.”
In this five-week course, we’ll dig into the essential elements of fiction craft: character and desire, conflict and meaningful action, point of view, scene and summary, and more. Each class will combine lively discussion, focused exercises (in and out of class), and group sharing to strengthen your grasp of these building blocks and help you use them to greater, more dynamic effect. We’ll also read a range of published fiction for both pleasure and insight, examining how accomplished writers make the choices that shape compelling narratives.
“In the end,” Andy says, “my goal is for writers of any level to expand their toolkit, gain confidence as storytellers, and write fiction that truly moves their readers.”
About The Writing Salon's Online Zoom Classes
You will be able to participate in live class meetings via Zoom videoconference. To attend classes, you'll need a phone, tablet or computer and access to the internet. You can participate in the class from wherever you'd like, whether on your living room couch or in your office. Before your class meets, you'll receive an email from The Writing Salon with more information about Zoom and your remote class. If you have any questions about remote learning, please don't hesitate to reach out to us at hello@writingsalons.com.
Andrew R. Touhy is the author of Designs for a Magician’s Top Hat, winner of the inaugural Yemassee Fiction Chapbook Prize. He is also a recipient of the San Francisco Browning Society’s Dramatic Monologue Award and Fourteen Hills Bambi Holmes Award for Emerging Writers. Stories from Secret of Mayo, his full-length collection and a finalist for the BOA Short Fiction Prize, have appeared in Conjunctions, New England Review, Alaska Quarterly Review, New American Writing, The Collagist, Colorado Review, and other literary magazines. He holds graduate degrees in literature and creative writing and has taught at SFSU, Academy of Art, and Ohio University.
- Live Zoom Meeting: Thursday, January 22, 6:30pm-9:00pm
- Live Zoom Meeting: Thursday, January 29, 6:30pm-9:00pm
- Live Zoom Meeting: Thursday, February 05, 6:30pm-9:00pm
- Live Zoom Meeting: Thursday, February 12, 6:30pm-9:00pm
- Live Zoom Meeting: Thursday, February 19, 6:30pm-9:00pm
I felt Andy was one of the most approachable writing teachers I've ever had, not pretentious at all, and that helped set the tone for the class. I felt like all the participants were inspired and treated each person with respect when doing workshopping. Andy gave each person's writing equal attention and interest.
Andy Touhy is enthusiastic, clearly loves looking at what prose can do, and seems able to imagine the best incarnation of in-progress pieces so that both the student and the class members get the benefit of detailed, imaginative and constructive suggestions.