Spinning Worlds

This four-session online workshop offers techniques for the creation of essential story elements to help writers bring their sci-fi worlds to life. The course focusses on the development of character and environment profiles, methods for inventing a speculative Universe, and honing your style as a writer of science fiction and fantasy.

Course Breakdown
In Spinning Worlds, participants will create and develop the essential elements of a speculative world (or worlds), including building character and environment profiles, world elements, and plot/story elements. Sessions will involve in-class writing exercises, live discussion, and short take-home assignments. Participants will construct the elements of a speculative/sci-fi/fantasy world and bring them together in a final piece.

WEEK ONE – Characters and Creatures – The first class will focus on creating and developing characters and creatures, and exploring how to build relationships between them.

WEEK TWO – Building a Universe – In Week Two we will look at creating and developing environments, planets, and whole universes for sci-fi stories.

WEEK THREE – Systems – In Week Three we will examine potential social and political systems for speculative worlds, and look at building a compelling premise and plot.

WEEK FOUR – Bringing It Together – Participants will use some or all of the elements created throughout the workshop to construct a final piece set in a speculative world. The fourth class will focus on these pieces.

Schedule: Thursdays, November 11, 18, 25, December 2, from 7 pm – 9 pm