This competitive, semester-long class is your opportunity to finally finish your novel or collection of short stories! Whether you’re working on the first draft of your novel and feeling stuck, writing your first short story, or you’ve already drafted a dozen and are hoping to shape them into a collection, this class is for you. During this 4-month intensive, we will focus on all aspects of writing, from drafting to revision, and finally publication. The goal of this class will be for you to complete –– or be well on your way to completing –– a full draft of your novel or short story collection.

This one-of-a-kind class will be tailored to your specific needs. If you’ve started a novel recently — or have a detailed idea for one — and need the time and focus to get the words down, we’ll provide the space for that. If you have been writing your novel for years but feel “stuck,” we’ll help you identify what is making you feel stuck and help you get unstuck. If you feel you made a wrong turn in your novel somewhere along the way but can’t figure out exactly where–a point in novel-writing that almost all novelists encounter–we’ll help you retrace your steps and find your direction.

The class will combine a rigorous and intimate workshop with generative writing prompts tailored to your individual project, close reading of short stories and novel extracts by masters of the craft, as well as advice about the best writing habits and routines to support a long-term project. We will also discuss publishing and the literary marketplace, agent querying, and submitting to literary magazines.

Omer Friedlander published his debut story collection with Random House at the age of 27. His novel, The Glass Golem, is forthcoming from Random House. This class draws on his own experience writing and publishing his collection, as well as lessons from his teachers (including Jonathan Safran Foer, Sigrid Nunez, and Zadie Smith), and his years of teaching creative writing at NYU, Columbia, Boston University, 92NY, and the Center for Fiction.

Payment 2 for MFA Intensive with Omer Friedlander