Writing Workshops

Crafting Novels on Notecards: Techniques from Nabokov with Jeff Boyd

$445

6 Sessions

Out of stock

Once a week Mondays, 6:00 pm EDT - 8:00 pm EDT July 13 to August 17, 2026

The Center for Fiction

This writing workshop is now sold out. Please email [email protected] to join the waitlist—and become a member for early access to future programming.

Many writers have said that writing a novel is a lot like solving a maddening puzzle of one’s own creation. But how do we gather the pieces?

In my own practice, I’ve found that there’s something special about the bite-sized, tactile nature of writing on 3×5 notecards. These friendly rectangles most famously used by Nabokov in the writing of nearly all his novels can easily fit into a pocket or bag and be taken out and jotted on wherever an idea strikes, whether that’s on the train, at work, or before nodding off to bed. False starts can be crumbled up and tossed into a bin. The process of drafting, planning, reorganizing, editing, typing, and expanding can be made easier to manage as we stack up the cards.

During this course, you will be asked to do most of your generative writing on notecards as you work on your novel. There will be in-class lectures, exercises, readings, discussions, check-ins, encouragement, and weekly writing assignments. The final three sessions will include the opportunity to workshop a portion of your novel-in-progress. We’ll use notecards to break down the often arduous process into manageable pieces that keep the momentum going. Whether you haven’t written much yet or are well into your novel, the goal is for each participant to leave with more pages, more tools, greater clarity, and a deeper understanding of how to reach the end. I think we’ll have a good time.

Course Outline:

Session 1: Why notecards? Famous examples. Goal setting. What are we working on? What do we hope to achieve? In-class reading and discussion of “Notes on Writing a Novel” by Elizabeth Bowen.
Session 2: Discussion of work completed on notecards over the previous week. Can they be shuffled? Transforming our scribbles into type. How do we fill in the gaps? How can we incorporate notecards into our reading practice? In-class readings of short pieces by Lydia Davis and Donald Barthelme.
Session 3: Notecard exercises. How is our work taking shape? In-class generative writing prompts. In-class readings and discussion.
Sessions 4–6: Workshops, discussions, and in-class writing exercises as time permits.

Teaching Style: This course will be a mix of reading, lecture, discussion, in-class work, and workshops. You will also be asked to bring in at least ten notecards a week while the course is in session. I take our work seriously, but also want this course to be fun and encouraging.

Level: Intermediate

This course is held in person at The Center for Fiction.

We offer a limited number of need-based scholarships for our Reading Groups and Writing Workshops, covering 50% of tuition. Applicants selected for scholarships will be notified one week prior to the first meeting. To apply for a scholarship, please fill out this form.

Led by

Jeff Boyd

Jeff Boyd

Jeff Boyd is the author of the novels The Weight and Hard Times. He has taught creative writing at the University of Iowa, Johns Hopkins, and Pratt Institute. A graduate of the Iowa Writers’ Workshop and a former public school teacher, he lives in New York with his family.

About this series

Writing Workshops

We strive to make our classes the most inviting and rewarding available, offering an intimate environment to study with award-winning, world-class writers. Each class is specially designed by the instructor, so whether you’re a fledgling writer or an MFA graduate polishing your novel, you’ll find a perfect fit here.

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