Class

8-Week: Worldbuilding in Speculative Fiction

New and seasoned Speculative Fiction writers are welcome in this generative workshop focused on creating immersive Sci-Fi, Fantasy, and supernatural worlds. Our goal is to center play, experimentation, and community as we work on a new short story, novel, or develop a work in progress.

Through low-pressure in-class and take-home world-building prompts and craft lessons, we’ll create multi-layered settings that will help us understand our character’s culture, motivation, and desire, craft magic and technology systems, write non-human perspectives, and bring the wild and weird to life. We will read Adult and Young Adult short and long Fiction from writers like, N.K. Jemisin, Jeff VanderMeer, Aidan Thomas, Haley Chewins, and Ursula K. Le Guin. Everyone will have the option to submit up to 1,000 words for verbal feedback from the instructor and fellow participants.

Instructions for Accessing This Online Class

In order to access live class meetings, you must have the Zoom application downloaded to your computer. You will also need a WiFi/Internet connection throughout the duration of your scheduled meeting and a computer with audio and video capability. The information to join your Zoom classroom will be provided in your confirmation email upon registration. Please check spam folders if you do not see this email upon registration. For more information on how to use Zoom, please see our training manual here.

Some classes use a supplemental Google Classroom page. Should your teaching artist use Google Classroom, you will be invited to join the classroom via email at least 24 hours in advance of your class (check spam folders if you are not seeing this invitation). Please note that Google Classroom requires a Gmail address to access the Classroom. If you do not have a Gmail account, the email invitation will be sent to the email address we have on file and will prompt you to create a free account or enter an existing account to join the classroom. If we are unable to send an email invitation to your non-gmail account, you will be contacted by a staff member to provide a Gmail address. If you do not have a Gmail account, you can create a free account here. Should you have concerns about this, please contact a Loft staff member at [email protected] or 612-379-8999. For more information on how to use Google Classroom, please see our training manual here.