Once a week on Zoom

Mondays, 7:00 pm EDT - 9:00 pm EDT

October 20 to November 24, 2025

https://centerforfiction.org/group-workshop/the-first-chapter-and-beyond-from-idea-to-novel-with-kyle-lucia-wu/

This workshop welcomes all writers who are stuck at the beginning of a great idea. The beginning is so full of promise and potential but carries the expectation of a whole novel: it can be easy to get stuck in the first act. In this class, we’ll swim our way to the deep end, crafting a compelling opening, getting past the first chapter, creating a blueprint for what’s to come, and setting ourselves up to reach the end.

We’ll take your opening idea and/or chapter and examine it for conflict, engine, and surprise, setting you up for a successful narrative journey. Not all writers like to write from outlines, so we’ll discuss different strategies a writer can rely on to propel their characters forward.

We’ll also read and discuss openings of novels to explore jumping-off points, do in-class writing exercises and use prompts to generate ideas, and draw from great craft examples to examine what will best complement your own idea to make it compelling, readable, and soulful.