Writing Workshops

When the Writing Stalls: Jumpstarting Scenes and Building Robust Characters with Sahar Mustafah

$125

1 Session

Out of stock

Saturday, 11:00 am EDT - 3:30 pm EDT April 2, 2022

Online via Zoom

timon-studler-ABGaVhJxwDQ-unsplash-1600x1067

In this workshop, we will explore ways of re-entering our stories, as well as strategies to expand characters and scenes in meaningful ways. We will also examine the roles trauma and joy play in shaping our narratives and bridging the distance between writer and characters. With the aid of mentor texts and hands-on application, participants will generate new writing to support current projects or discover leads to new ones.

Capacity: 20

Led by

Sahar Mustafah

Sahar Mustafah

Sahar Mustafah is the daughter of Palestinian immigrants, an inheritance she explores in her fiction. Her first novel The Beauty of Your Face (W.W. Norton, 2020) was named a 2020 Notable Book and Editor’s Choice by New York Times Book Review, a Los Angeles Times United We Read selection, and one of Marie Claire magazine’s 2020 Best Fiction by Women. It was longlisted for The Center for Fiction 2020 First Novel Prize, and was a finalist for the Palestine Book Awards, Chicago Writers Association Best Book of the Year award, and the Chicago Review of Books award. Her short story collection Code of the West was the winner of the 2016 Willow Books Fiction Award. Her stories have earned a Distinguished Story citation from Best American Short Stories 2016, First Place in Fiction from the Guild Literary Complex of Chicago, and three Pushcart Prize nominations, among other honors. Mustafah earned her MFA from Columbia College Chicago where she was the recipient of the David Friedman Award for Best Fiction. She writes and teaches outside of Chicago.

By Sahar Mustafah

.

The Beauty of Your Face

By Sahar Mustafah

Published by W. W. Norton

PURCHASE

The Beauty of Your Face tells a uniquely American story in powerful, evocative prose. Afaf Rahman, the daughter of Palestinian immigrants, is the principal of a Muslim school in the Chicago suburbs. One morning, a shooter—radicalized by the online alt-right—attacks the school. As Afaf listens to his terrifying progress, we are swept back through her memories, and into a profound and “moving” (Bustle) exploration of one woman’s life in a nation at odds with its ideals.

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.

Groups+Workshops

More Groups+Workshops

Groups+Workshops