4-Week: The Art of Great Openings in Prose

We all remember opening scenes that took our breath away—whether it’s a 1951 baseball game’s famous homerun like in DeLillo’s Underworld or a house in Ohio haunted by a baby’s ghost like in Morrison’s Beloved. From first draft to final draft, the beginning of a story is the part every writer changes the most. But what exactly distinguishes a good beginning from a great beginning? In this class, we’ll read a range of compelling prose openings as well as dig into the creative ways they craft the magic of their iconic first scenes. This class is for any writer who wants to discover how great stories do really come from great beginnings.