Novel Writing Class Package
November 1, 2025 - November 29, 2025
$236.00 – $476.00
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This Event is for Members only.
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$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 craft a memorable and thematic opening, use research to enrich your story, deftly utilize exposition and interiority, 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, 2026.
Click on each individual title to view additional class details or to purchase a class independent of the package.
“Start Your Novel & Unlock Your Story” with John Pipkin
Saturday, November 1, 2025 / 10:00 PM to 1:00 PM CDT
A good opening is the key to unlocking the rest of the story. This class is intended to give writers useful strategies and techniques for starting a novel.
Sometimes writing the opening of a novel can seem a daunting challenge, an obstacle to writing the rest of the book, especially when the long-arc of the novel seems to be stretching off into the invisible distance. But a well-written opening can actually help you structure and outline the rest of the story, and the process of writing an opening offers a writer the opportunity to explore the story’s main ideas.
We’ve all heard that an opening needs to “pull a reader into the story,” but what exactly does this mean, and how do you do it? Should you begin with character? Plot? Setting? Theme? A short sentence? A long winding sentence? We’ll look at a variety of published examples of effective openings, and we’ll do some brief in-class writing assignments to identify ways to figure out what kind of opening may work best for your novel. We’ll look at how research can be helpful not only for finding useful content for an opening, but also for providing new ideas for new stories. Also, we’ll discuss how the opening of a novel is in dialogue with other parts of the novel, even and especially its ending.
“Researching Your Novel: How to Do It and When to Stop” with James Wade
Wednesday, November 12, 2025 / 6:30 PM to 9:30 PM CST
Learn how to successfully conduct research for your novel.
Research is vital to a novel’s accuracy, sense of place, and overall tone. But writers often get stuck or overwhelmed with the amount of information available. The key to success is striking a balance between research and writing, and knowing when one should take precedent over the other. With a world of information at our disposal, this class will help you find the best sources, decide what material is most important, and know when to move on to the writing phase of your project. We’ll go through the process step-by-step to see the various roles research plays from a novel’s inception to its completion.
“Show and Tell: The Power of Exposition and Interiority” with Stacey Swann
Wednesday, November 19, 2025 / 6:30 PM to 9:30 PM CST
When it comes to writing fiction, the phrase “show don’t tell” is so common, most writers have internalized it; however, there can be great power in vivid exposition and in delving into a character’s interiority. In this class, we will explore the ways those techniques can heighten the impact of our scenes and allow deeper access to voice.
When it comes to writing fiction, the phrase “show don’t tell” is so common, most writers have internalized it. We live in a culture dominated by film and TV, and those mediums are defined by showing. (Who loves a voice over? No one!) But as in so many things, this type of black and white thinking has drawbacks. There can be great power in vivid exposition, in delving into a character’s interiority; these are the things that can set fiction apart from other narrative art forms. Those craft elements can bring us inside the characters, showing their complex, subjective selves rather than keeping us outside, as passive viewers. In this class, we will explore the ways that exposition and interiority can heighten the impact of our scenes and allow deeper access to voice. Students will come away with new techniques to explore and integrate into their own work.
“The Art of Revision: Small Lines, Big Moves” with Kimberly Garza
Saturday, November 29, 2025 / 10:00 PM to 1:00 PM CST
Ready to rewrite? We’ll discuss the many stages of revision, from the big plot moves to the tiny line edits.
So you’ve finally written a first draft of your book. Now what? How do you take your story from rough to polished–without losing your mind? This class will tackle the many phases of revision, from big moves to small tweaks. We’ll share strategies for identifying what your work needs, setting revision goals, pacing your rewriting, and more. Writers will leave with helpful tools and practices to take their stories from drafts to done.
Instructors
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John Pipkin is the Director of the Undergraduate Creative Writing Program at the University of Texas-Austin and also teaches in the low-residency MFA Program at Spalding University. Originally from Baltimore, he holds a Ph.D. in 19th-century British Literature and is the author of the critically-acclaimed novels: Woodsburner (Nan A Talese/Doubleday 2009) which won the New York Center for Fiction First Novel Prize, and The Blind Astronomer’s Daughter (Bloomsbury 2016). He has received fellowships to MacDowell, Yaddo, Dobie-Paisano, and the Gullkistan Center for Creativity in Iceland. He is also the recipient of the 2021 Harry Ransom Award for Excellence in Teaching at UT-Austin. -
James Wade is the youngest novelist to win two Spur Awards from the Western Writers of America, and the recipient of the MPIBA’s prestigious Reading the West Award. His debut novel, All Things Left Wild, was listed as one of the most influential westerns of the 21st century by True West Magazine and included in the Los Angeles Times's 1,001 Novels: A Library of America. His Southern Gothic mystery, Beasts of the Earth, was named a Best Book of 2022 by both Deep South Magazine and The Southern Review of Books. His new novel, Narrow the Road, received a starred review from Publishers Weekly. James is a four-time finalist for the Austin Chronicle's Best Writer in Austin award, and his work has appeared in Texas Highways, Writers’ Digest, and numerous additional publications. James lives and writes in the Texas Hill Country with his wife and children. -
Stacey Swann’s debut novel Olympus, Texas (Doubleday) was a Good Morning America Book Club selection, an Indie Next Pick, and was longlisted for The Center for Fiction First Novel Prize. Swann holds an M.F.A. from Texas State University and was a Stegner Fellow at Stanford University. Her writing has appeared in LitHub, Electric Literature, Texas Highways, Epoch, and other journals. She splits her time between Austin and Lampasas, Texas. -
Kimberly Garza is the author of the critically acclaimed novel The Last Karankawas, a New York Times Editors’ Choice and an Indie Next pick. Her stories and essays have appeared in Electric Literature, Texas Highways, Copper Nickel, and elsewhere, and she is a 2024 National Endowment of the Arts creative writing fellow. A native Texan—born in Galveston, raised in Uvalde—she teaches creative writing and literature at the University of Texas at San Antonio, where she directs the Creative Writing Program.
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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);
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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.
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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.