What is it that makes a book so riveting you can’t put it down or a movie so compelling you’re on the edge of your seat, waiting to learn what will happen next?

In this class, we will answer this question and learn how to bring that same narrative drive to our own creative writing projects. Using examples from literature, film, and TV, we will explore the craft of narrative construction and how a richly drawn character pursues goals and overcomes obstacles to create irresistible, emotionally resonant stories.

We will use in-class exercises to map your story, develop your main character, and learn how to construct a scene. Then, in a workshop setting, you will have the opportunity to present what you know of your story (in outline form, graphically, or just verbally) to the class. We will discuss each of these student stories from the standpoint of narrative craft, applying the tools we have learned to help you create a more complete and gripping story arc, which will allow you to write with more confidence and clarity

This class is appropriate for writers of fiction, memoir, plays, and screenplays—anyone trying to develop their characters and stories. It is designed for writers at any point in their careers, from beginner to professional. Story craft is an essential set of tools we need to apply to every writing project.

Maury Zeff is a Bay Area fiction writer and playwright. His work has been published in American Fiction, Crab Orchard Review, Southern California Review, and elsewhere and his plays have been performed throughout the United States and in Europe. He was nominated for a 2020 Pushcart Prize in fiction, won the 2021 Clark-Gross Award in the Novel, and was a finalist for the 2022 Tobias Wolff Award for Fiction and the Acacia Fiction Prize. He has received writing commissions and fellowships from PlayGround, the SF Olympians, and the San Francisco Writers Grotto, where he works and teaches writing. Maury earned an MFA in writing from the University of San Francisco.