What's Coming Up at The Forever Workshop in September?
Let's build beautiful fictional worlds together
Workshop of The Month
This month’s workshop is What All Writers Can Learn from Speculative Fiction with Amy Shearn
Join us throughout September to create immersive, imaginative fictional worlds that keep readers hooked — no matter what kind of genre you write:
“Those of us who attended old-school MFA programs may have received some dismissive ideas about genre fiction, but the truth is that we can learn a lot from this kind of writing.
Elements of speculative fiction that are important in any literary work include world-building, imagining alternate realities, using various iterations of the monster, and always keeping the plot moving. This course is a fun way to welcome more imagination and play into your writing life!”
— Amy Shearn
A Pick ‘n’ Mix of World-Building Intensives!
Each lesson in this workshop is a standalone intensive on a different aspect of world-building, so pick and choose whichever topic suits your story best — or work through the whole collection for the full masterclass.
And by the end of the month, you’ll be a master/mistress/non-binary majesty of speculative techniques and world-building, including:
World-building Techniques ALL Writers Should Steal From Speculative Fiction: why world-building matters, and how blurry the lines really are between spec/lit fic…
Don't Make This Monstrous Mistake in Your Writing: how to craft complicated and nuanced antagonistic forces in your fiction.
Your MFA Lied to You About Tropes — Here’s the Truth: why ‘trope’ is not a dirty word, and the intricate possibilities of playing with popular tropes.
How to Craft Weirdly Compelling Fictional Worlds: exploring character psychology, unreliable narrators, and confronting the unbelievable.
Lesson 1 drops directly into your inbox on Sept 3, and new lessons will be out every Wednesday in September!
Paid subscribers receive full access to this and all of our workshops for $10/mo
Oh, Also? This Month You’re Finally Gonna Start That Project You’ve Been Procrastinating About Forever, Okay?
Since September’s workshop is on the theme of speculative fiction, Forever Workshop matriarch Shelby had the genius idea of flipping the definition to kick all of our asses — AKA we’re going to take those ideas we’ve been speculating about forever and actually start writing them.
Every Friday this month we’re going to be posting an anti-procrastination prompt in The Community Corner to help you take your hypothetical, theoretical, well-intentioned story concepts and turn them into actual, tangible, actionable writing projects. Get out of your own way, screw writer’s block, and let’s start something.
Sign up to receive the first exercise on 5 Sept and join the accountability party!
Live Writing Events with Chill Subs
We also get that sometimes you want your writing advice delivered directly into your face, so check out this month’s live events over at big daddy Chill Subs (ew, sorry).
(And by the wayyy, If you have a paid Forever Workshop subscription, you get all these events totally, completely, utterly free!*)
Here’s what we’ve got to look forward to this month:
4 September — The MFA Toolkit with Justine Payton: everything you need to choose, prepare, and submit to a creative Masters program like a pro.
11 September — Ask a Literary Agent with Sasha Landauer, literary agent at Writers House and co-editor of Notch Magazine: join the live AMA for answers to all your literary questions.
16 September — Publish Your Funny Stuff with Alex Baia: best practices for submitting your hilarious writing, and specific tips on how to approach different humor sites.
*Click here for instructions on how to access Chill Subs events for FREE with your Forever Workshop subscription.
Some Stuff You Might Have Missed in August
Don’t let it pass you by! There was a whole load of cool shit going on last month, and it’s still waiting patiently for your eyeballs.
August’s Forever Workshop Lesson Roundup:
Kelly Grace Thomas’s workshop, Fierce & Flawless Figurative Language dove deeeeeeep into the magic of metaphor, how to humble your hyperbole, crafting incredible imagery, and stopping hearts and minds with your symbolism — as well as a whole load of other figurative fancies (including alliteration):
5 Ways to Craft Vivid Imagery (and 5 Common Mistakes to Avoid)
How Much is Too Much? A Balanced Guide to Hyperbole & Personification
The Symbolism & Sonic Techniques That Make Writing Memorable
Feedback Friends Forever: Poetry Edition!
And finally, our latest beta reader matchmaking thread is all about the poetry, so if you’re in need of fresh eyes on your stanzas and a second opinion on your line breaks, go find yourself a Forever Feedback Friend from our amazing community.
