A crash course on the ins and outs of Gothic fiction!
Gothic fiction is a literary genre that has spawned and inspired everything from Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and Bram Stoker’s Dracula to the weird fiction of H.P. Lovecraft and the heroines in the works of Shirley Jackson—all the way up to contemporary writers like Joyce Carol Oates, Victor Lavalle, and Silvia Moreno-Garcia. This fast-paced class will be split into two parts: first, you’ll take a crash course on what defines Gothic fiction and learn about the genre’s origins and contemporary interpretations. Then, you’ll dive into a few Gothic-inspired writing prompts to enliven—or perhaps haunt—your own work.
Live video conference: This workshop will be held via our online video conferencing platform, Zoom. You can view brief tutorials on using the platform here. On the start date or the day before, participants will receive an email with login info (please check your spam if you don’t see it).
In this workshop you’ll learn:
- What Gothic fiction is , past and present
- How setting is used as plot, tension, and character
- Why the genre endures today & how you can tap into it for your writing
Time requirements
- No additional time required outside of class.
Materials
- All reading materials will be provided.
Who should take this workshop?
- This workshop is designed for writers at any level looking to jumpstart their writing with new ideas and inspirations; for writers who are looking for writing prompts to build from after the class ends; and for writers curious to know more about this immensely popular literary genre.
If you need an accommodation for this workshop, please contact us at access@writer.org. We will attempt to fulfill all requests, but advance notice is necessary to arrange for some accessibility services.