Novel Writing Class Package
November 4 2026 5:00 PM - November 21 2026 1:00 PM CST
$236.00 – $476.00
This Event is for Members only.
Click here to learn more about benefits of membership
$236 for Members
$476 for Non-Members
Learn the fundamental craft elements necessary to embark on and see through a novel project.
This class package aims to equip writers with the tools needed to take on the novel-writing process and to finish it. Learn how to define your story’s central motivating theme, explore structure through narrative braiding, develop undeniable and unforgettable characters, and revise your draft. Together, these four classes will set you up for success as you embark on or work to finish a novel.
Can’t make it to every class? No worries! All who register will have access to the class recordings until January 31, 2027.
Click on each individual title to view additional class details or to purchase a class independent of the package.
“Theme as Guide: Following the Heart of Your Novel” with Charlotte Gullick
Wednesday, November 4 / 6:30 PM to 9:30 PM CT
Identifying the “aboutness” of a project—the heart, stakes, and focus of the work—can help guide and motivate a book-length project.
In this class, writers will have the opportunity to clarify and develop core elements of their book, so that they can proceed with joy, focus, and efficiency. Students will complete in-class exercises, discussions, and readings in order to hone in on and concentrate on the foundational framework for the project. A foundation on which they can build their story and finish strong.
“Braiding Your Narrative: Motivations and Methods” with Chaitali Sen
Saturday, November 7 / 10:00 PM to 1:00 PM CT
Sometimes a story can’t be contained within one point-of-view or timeline. It needs to zoom out to show the reader different perspectives, to pan across time or space to give us a longer view of the sweeping story we’re trying to tell.
A braided structure is a common way to handle this need, and it comes with both risks and rewards. The braided narrative alternates different strands of a story, allowing them to develop distinctly while building toward a cohesive whole. In this class, we will look at different forms of braiding and how to make effective and intentional choices on handling different points of views and timelines that serve one overarching story. What are the right and wrong reasons to use a braided narrative structure? What exactly should be braided? Can there be too many braids? How do you maintain momentum toward a satisfying conclusion when the writer interrupts one story thread to pursue another?
In this class, we will examine different models of braiding, interrogate the structure of our own long narratives, and engage in writing and brainstorming exercises. The goal is to come out of this class with a clear idea of how braided narrative works and possible outlines for braided narratives of our own.
“Character vs. Caricature: Creating Characters that Leap Off the Page” with Rubén Degollado
Wednesday, November 18 / 6:30 PM to 9:30 PM CT
You can write a tight plot and a fully realized setting, but if characters don’t feel real it can mean the difference between a reader being immersed in your story or subconsciously checking out. Or worse yet (gasp!) putting your story down forever, never to return.
In theater, there is a maxim: “There are no small roles, only small actors.” An actor inhabits the “small roles” by putting all of their skill and passion into their single scenes. For the fiction writer, this is achieved by a secondary characters’ thoughtful, intentional details, unspoken motives, mini-arcs, posture towards their world, and posture towards the main characters themselves. But how much detail do you give them? How do they not outshine the main characters? Through the study of popular films, classic novels, as well as the use of pre-writing exercises, storytellers will walk away with tools to better equip them to write fully realized characters instead of caricatures.
“The Art of the Editing Phase” with Alex Temblador
Saturday, November 21 / 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM CT
Despite being disliked by so many writers, the editing phase is arguably the most important part of the writing process as it brings your story across the finish line.
Whether you have a novel or a short story completed, this class will provide you with the tools to take your story to the next level. You’ll learn how to revise from the line level to the overall storyline. Through examples and exercises, you’ll gain better insight into grounding a scene through details, revising your story’s tone, and editing for lyricality of language. By the end, you’ll have the confidence to drive headlong into the editing phase so that your story can be ready to submit to literary agents, publishers, or magazines.
Instructors
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Charlotte Gullick is a novelist, essayist, editor, educator. Charlotte’s first novel, By Way of Water, was published by Blue Hen Books/Penguin Putnam, and her nonfiction has appeared in The Rumpus, Brevity, The Best of Brevity, Pembroke, Dogwood, Barnstorm Journal, Pithead Chapel, and the LA Review. Her other awards include a Christopher Isherwood Fellowship for Fiction, a Colorado Council on the Arts Fellowship for Poetry, a MacDowell Colony Residency, a Ragdale Residency, the Evergreen State College 2012 Teacher Excellence Award as well as the Gold Star for Teaching and Mentorship from American Short Fiction (2020). -
Chaitali Sen is the author of the novel The Pathless Sky and the short story collection A New Race of Men from Heaven, winner of the Mary McCarthy Prize in Short Fiction. Her second novel, Girlhood, is forthcoming from Grove, Atlantic. Stories and essays have been published by Catapult, Colorado Review, Copper Nickel, Ecotone, LitHub, New England Review, Texas Observer, and other print and online journals. Currently, she is a PhD candidate in Creative Writing and Literature at University of Houston, and a recipient of the Inprint J. A. and Isabel M. Elkins Foundation Fellowship. 
Rubén Degollado, PEN/Faulkner Award nominee and Texas Institute of Letters Inductee, is the author of Throw, winner of the 2020 Texas Institute of Letters Award for Best Young Adult Book and The Family Izquierdo, a New York Times Editors’ Choice. His work has appeared or has been featured in Texas Highways, Lit Hub, The Rumpus, The Common, CRAFT, and Image. Rubén lives and writes along the southern border, in the Río Grande Valley of Texas. Recently he was awarded the inaugural Jesse H. Jones Fellowship to complete his forthcoming third novel, to be published by W.W. Norton. -
Alex Temblador is the Mixed Latine award-winning author of the writing craft book, Writing An Identity Not Your Own, and two magical realism novels, Half Outlaw and Secrets of the Casa Rosada. In addition to receiving her MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Central Oklahoma, Alex's creative work has been published in literary outlets like PALABRITAS, D Magazine, Colorado Review, as well as two anthologies — Living Beyond Borders: Growing Up Mexican in America and Speculative Fiction for Dreamers: A Latinx Anthology. Alex has taught creative writing seminars, workshops, and classes with WritingWorkshops.com, the Women's Fiction Writers Association, the Writer's League of Texas, StoryStudio Chicago, WorldShift: The Speculative Fiction Writer's Summit, Texas Book Festival, Macmillan Publishers, Abydos Learning Conference, and more. When she's not writing her next book, Alex works as an award-winning journalist, travels the world, sews, and gardens in her home base of Dallas.
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Anti-Harassment Policy
The Writers’ League of Texas is dedicated to providing harassment-free spaces for everyone, regardless of gender identity, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, race, age, or religion. We do not tolerate harassment in any form. Violating these rules may result in expulsion from WLT programs without a refund at the discretion of the WLT staff.
Harassment includes, but is not limited to:
- Comments that reinforce social structures of domination (related to gender identity, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, race, age, or religion);
- Sexual images not appropriate for the specific subject of the public discussion;
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- Sustained disruption of discussions or other events;
- Unwelcome sexual attention;
- Advocating for, or encouraging, any of the above behavior.
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Participants asked to stop any harassing behavior are expected to comply immediately. If a participant engages in harassing behavior, event organizers retain the right to take any actions to keep the event a welcoming environment for all participants. This includes warning the offender or expulsion from the event with no refund. Event organizers may take action to redress anything designed to, or with the clear impact of, disrupting the event or making the environment hostile for any participants. We expect participants to follow these rules during all events and event-related social activities.
Reporting
If someone makes you or anyone else feel unsafe or unwelcome, please report it as soon as possible. Reports can also be made via email at wlt@writersleague.org. We’ll handle any and all reports as respectfully as possible. You won’t be asked to confront anyone, and we won’t tell anyone who you are.
Accessibility Policy
Closed captioning is available for all online classes and special events.
The WLT is committed to making its programs & services accessible to all writers. Please contact us at wlt@writersleague.org or at 512-499-8914 for more information or to discuss accommodations you may need.
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Writers’ League of Texas classes and workshops are also funded in part by the Texas Commission on the Arts – Investing in a Creative Texas. For more information, go to www.arts.texas.gov.