The Alexandra Centre has confirmed my teaching gig this fall: a ten week course on “The first three chapters.” The registration is full with a waitlist, so I will have ten students. I’m really looking forward to the class–it’s one I haven’t taught before, so I did some preliminary preparation this week.
The curriculum is only described very briefly: ten weeks, ten words (plot, setting, character…) and there will be no, or very little, critiquing (because the opening of a novel is a delicate thing–it can be destroyed so easily), so I added a few items of my own. For instance, I think I’d like to take the students through quilting, pantsing, and planning; we’ll have a brief look at the end at the audience–things like that. I also have a great new reference for them to explore: “Wired for Story.”