“If you want to be a writer, you must do two things above all others: read a lot and write a lot.” – Stephen King, On Writing
The entire premise for my class, Reading as a Contact Sport, comes from two quotes:
- “It is useful to watch good writers make mistakes.” – James Wood, How Fiction Works
- “It is almost impossible to write a novel better than the best novel you’ve read in the three to six months before you began your novel. Thus, you must read excellent novels regularly. Excellent novels set the standards for our own. But bad novels and bad prose are what teach us to write–by setting strong examples. You must read both, then–and read them analytically and discriminatingly.” – Samual R Delany, About Writing
Throughout each month, the class reads a novel together. We have some preliminary discussions in a dedicated channel on my Discord server. Then, on the final Saturday of the month, we meet in a Zoom session to discuss the book and do some directed writing exercises that I take from the text and the discussion. The class is structured as follows:
- Writing prompt to get our creative juices flowing.
- Discussion of how the prompt links to the reading.
- Discussion of the book on a craft level. This goes beyond our personal enjoyment of the book. We delve deeply into how reflecting on the book’s qualities, both good and bad, offers us a deeper understanding of the craft of writing.
- Writing exercises inspired by the text that offer practical applications of the discussion.
While students may participate in the class without reading the book, if they are merely interested in the writing exercises, they will gain far more from the class by reading each month’s book.
Attending the class is FREE, with an option for donations via Venmo and PayPal.
Current book: June 30 – Zoo City, by Lauren Beukis
Future books:
- October 9 – The Book Eaters, by Sunyi Dean
- November 2 – The Saint of Bright Doors, by Vajra Chandrasekera (Nebula Winner)
- December 7 – Some Desperate Glory, by Emily Tesh (Hugo Winner)
- January 25 – The Making of Another Major Motion Picture Masterpiece, by Tom Hanks
Previous books:
- Light, by M. John Harrison
- Six of Crows, by Leigh Bardugo
- Dhalgren, by Samuel R Delany
- At Swim, Two Birds, by Flann O’Brien
- Lives of the Monster Dogs, by Kirstin Bakis
- The Book of M, by Peng Shepherd
- Flet, by Joyell McSweeny
- Vurt, by Jeff Noon
- Mazes of Power, by Juliette Wade
- The Atlas Six, by Olivie Blake
- The Ballad of Black Tom, by Victor Lavalle
- The End of Days, by Jenny Erpenbeck
- All the Birds in the Sky, by Charlie Jane Anders
- Klara and the Sun, by Kazue Ishiguro
- We are All So Good at Smiling, by Amber McBride
- Spinning Silver, by Naomi Novik
- Milkman, by Anna Burns
- Hella, by David Gerrold
- This Plague of Souls, by Mike McCormack
- 40, by Alan Heathcock
- Bable, by R F Kwang
- America Fantastica, by Tim O’Brien