A generative fiction course

9 weeks beginning Sep. 16 or Oct. 4

Named for the folk tool used to detect underground water, THE DOWSING ROD prioritizes writing out of—and toward—our deepest impulses and intuitions. At once a craft class, a generative opportunity, and an accountability group, over nine sessions, writers will test new approaches to narrative that honor their uniquely personal interests and proclivities. Class topics like “The Human Triangle” and “Found Stories” are designed to both spark new ideas and refresh our perspectives on shelved projects or works-in-progress. We’ll ask: what people, places, and experiences haunt us, and how do we translate these lurkers into prose? How can writers borrow from architecture, weather, and divination tools to rethink narrative form? And how might a single word, a lapsed memory, or an unanswerable question become the wellspring of a short story or novel?

Each 90 minute class will include group discussion, actionable craft strategies, and significant in-session time to write. At home, participants should aim to commit to a regular writing practice of their own design (no goal is too small!) and be able to budget 45 mins/week for class reading. We’ll look at texts by Kathryn Scanlan, Karen Tei Yamashita, Dionne Brand, Grace Paley, and many more.