Our On Demand Writing Classes are standalone webinars that go in-depth on a specific Writing the Other issue. These downloadable webinars include video lectures and supplemental material.
For creative writers looking to decolonize their fiction and avoid harming marginalized people and cultures, crafting immersive worlds for science fiction, fantasy, and other speculative narratives can be especially challenging. Taught by a team of renowned authors and experts, this course explores and explains the foundational worldbuilding concepts of ideology, religiosity, cosmology, sociology, and more. Whether you’re a seasoned storyteller or just starting your journey, this course will equip you with an advanced worldbuilding skillset plus the confidence to create inclusive narratives and worlds that resonate with a wide range of readers.
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Research is a necessary part of the creative process for every fictional narrative, whether you’re creating whole new worlds or futures, using historical settings or events, or crafting characters whose identities or cultures are very different from your own. You don’t have to be a scholar or even a university student to get help and learn how to find the information you need to craft great stories. In this course, reference librarian Melody Steiner will take you through the research process step-by-step.
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Bisexual author Cecilia Tan walks writers through the process of researching and representing characters who are not attracted exclusively to people of a single gender. Termed pansexual by some, bisexual by others (the “B” in LGBTQ), these sexual identities are among the most stigmatized and misunderstood, and are often represented by cliches and inaccurate stereotypes.
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Most writers want to avoid Cultural Appropriation but worry that they don’t fully understand what it is or how to ensure their work does not include it. In this On Demand webinar, we’ll give you the resources you need.
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In this Master Class authors Marianne Kirby and Meg Elison will help you move beyond these kinds of tropes and create characters with big bodies that constitute good representation.
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Partially deaf and partially blind writer and editor Elsa Sjunneson walks writers through the process of researching and understanding both conditions for fiction writing.
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Trans playwright Ashley Lauren Rogers provides writers with an understanding of gender identity, biological sex, appropriate language (including pronouns), transitioning, and why accurate representation of trans and non-binary people in all media is crucial and necessary.
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In this Master Class, Native scholar and activist Debbie Reese talks about the missteps Rowling and many other authors have made, why they are a problem, and offers writers strategies for avoiding them and doing better.
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In this master class, asexual author Lauren Jankowski walks students through the general terminology related to the asexual spectrum, discusses the importance of dismantling the love hierarchy, and provides tips for avoiding common stereotypes of asexuals.
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