To the delight of readers across the globe, Salman Rushdie’s genre-defying novels have brought surreal and magical realms to life for decades. Now the Booker Prize–winning author teaches you the art and craft of storytelling. Learn how to draw from your own experiences to build vivid worlds, authentic characters, and complex plots. There are extraordinary stories that only you can write—start sharing them.
Overview
Syllabus
- Meet Your Instructor
- Salman introduces himself and shares his hopes to teach you the shortcuts and lessons he’s learned through decades of writing.
- Determine How to Tell Your Story
- Salman explains his philosophy: A big story should drive your writing. Learn the essential questions he asks himself about a new story before sitting down to write.
- Flesh Out Your Story’s Structure
- Build the framework of your story through a well-planned plot with Salman’s techniques to help you avoid setbacks.
- Opening Lines With Power
- Salman discusses the unique value of opening sentences and shares successful examples from literature as well as his own work.
- Drawing From Storytelling Traditions
- Explore influential forms of traditional storytelling, including the “Frame Story” represented in Arabian Nights, global mythology, and India’s rich history of oral storytelling.
- Conceiving Characters
- Salman discusses the “write what you know” dictum in relation to character and encourages you to embrace characters whose realities differ from your own.
- Bringing Characters to Life
- Think of your characters as real, dynamic people and work to understand the internal motivations that drive them.
- Revealing Character
- Learn the elements that help you reveal more about your characters than adjectives alone can.
- Setting as a Character
- Learn how to approach place with the same depth and description as you would for any of your characters.
- Your Unmistakably Unique Worldview
- Examine your personal perspective, values, and experience to understand one of your strongest assets as a writer: your unmistakably unique worldview.
- Observing the World
- Salman shares practical tips for observing sights and soundscapes to gather material for rich descriptions.
- Developing Your Narrative Style
- Salman teaches techniques to translate your personal voice into your own unique style of prose.
- Building a Surrealist Story
- Salman encourages you to take advantage of surrealism as a device and “let the carpet fly.”
- Researching the Novel
- Go beyond the internet when conducting research for fiction. Salman shares ideas for where and how to look.
- All Writing Is Rewriting
- Discover Salman’s approaches to rewriting and learn how his work habits have changed over time.
- Editing and Feedback: The Confidence to Share
- Get practical advice for working with an editor and discover the power of working past your inhibitions to receive feedback from an objective person.
- Develop Your Relationship With Writing
- Salman discusses his approach to finding motivation, the value of experimentation, and his tips for working through writer’s block.
- Salman’s Global Canon
- Salman makes the case for a new global canon and discusses works of fiction that have inspired him personally.
- Seven Useful Tips for Writers
- Take away seven practical tips for becoming a stronger writer.
Taught by
Salman Rushdie
