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Course Catalog
Beginnings
What is really going through readers’ minds when they read the first sentence or paragraph of one of your works-in-progress? We will discuss beginnings, first lines and paragraphs: what they should do, how much they can demand of a reader, and what creates confusion. We’ll discuss a few first lines and paragraphs from a recent issue of Best American Short Stories. Then, participants will read aloud from the beginning of one of their stories or novel and get feedback from the rest of us. We’ll discuss what our buy-in moment was and try to articulate why. Bring the beginning of a story or novel work-in-progress. If time allows, we can briefly discuss preparing manuscripts for submitting to contests.
Beginning Fall 2021, we will be adding select in-person classes back to our course catalog. The majority of our classes will still be offered via Zoom.
If a class says IN-PERSON in its title, it will take place in person at our permanent home in Seattle.
If a class says ASYNCHRONOUS in its title, it will take place on Wet Ink, our asynchronous learning platform.
If a class does not have a marker after its title, it will take place via Zoom.
Instructor: Lori Ostlund
Class Type: 1 Session
FictionStart Date: 09/29/2015
Days of the Week: Tuesday
Time: 1:00 PM – 4:00 PM PDT
Minimum Class Size: 5
Maximum Class Size: 15
$67.50
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$75.00 General Price:
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Lori Ostlund
Lori Ostlund’s novel, After the Parade (Scribner), will be released in September and is a B&N Discover Pick. Her story collection, The Bigness of the World (2009), received the Flannery O’Connor Award for Short Fiction and the California Book Award for First Fiction.