MFA for All - Mat Johnson (Novel Whispering)

Do you have a novel-in-progress that’s lost its way? Or are you starting a novel but lack a road map toward your literary destination? Does typing more pages just seem to take your manuscript further from reaching its full potential? In this course, we will identify the biggest hurdles in successful novel creation and offer tools to overcome them. This class will provide participants with practical techniques to kickstart their manuscripts, or kick them into shape. We will explore using the fundamentals of story structure to decide what to write, what to cut, and what to further develop on the page; how to tune your characters, place, and plot so they ring in harmony; how to identify what your book is actually about thematically, and the method of leaning into that knowledge to create something greater than you could have ever imagined. Whether beginning a new novel or rescuing an older one, this analysis of technique will provide the craft skills you need to allow your art to flourish.

Wednesday, December 2 & December 16
7 p.m. to 9 p.m. EST / 6 p.m. to 8 p.m CST