John Boyne wrote The Boy in the Striped Pajamas in less than three days. Kazuo Ishiguro drafted The Remains of the Day in four weeks. About his process, Ishiguro explained, “The priority was simply to get the ideas surfacing and growing. Awful sentences, hideous dialogue, scenes that went nowhere—I let them remain and ploughed on.” By examining the fast-drafting process of established writers, this course will teach you how to silence the inner critic and accept imperfection as a necessary part of writing the first draft of any book. Whether you’re writing fiction or nonfiction or working on a novel or memoir, this course will teach you how to write as quickly and imperfectly as possible. You can expect short lectures on fast drafting, including discussions of where to begin, how to outline and prepare, how to set your word count and deadlines, and how to overcome mental obstacles. You should also expect to complete in-class exercises or writing prompts and engage in partner or group discussions that strengthen your understanding of fast drafting. By the end of this course, you’ll have learned fast drafting techniques to help jumpstart a new writing project or reignite enthusiasm for a languishing manuscript.

In this workshop, we will generate new writing through guided exercises and prompts.