Class Starts Tuesday, April 9th, 2024

The class will meet weekly via Zoom (Tuesdays, 7PM ET - 9PM ET) and also have an online classroom in Wet Ink.

Any questions about this class? Use the Chat Button (lower left) to talk with us.

Led by Ploi Pirapokin, who sits on the board for Khōréō Magazine, Hivemind: Global Speculative Fiction Magazine, and the Ragdale Foundation. Her work is featured in Tor.com, Pleiades, Ninth Letter, Sycamore Review, Gulf Stream Magazine, and The Art and Craft of Stories from Asia: A Writer's Guide and Anthology from Bloomsbury Academic. Ploi is a graduate of the Clarion Writers Workshop and the MFA in Creative Writing at San Francisco State University.

How do you know when your story is done? We’ll look at the risks and rewards of our approaches to fiction, and the sacrifices we’d have to make to inch closer to the heart of our conflict, character, and truths.

Students will workshop together each week on one story of their choice, sticking with a draft all the way through to its best potential. We’ll read and analyze in-progress examples of short stories from early drafts to completion from a variety of authors—emerging and experienced writers—with tips on revision from authors of different ethnicities, class, sexuality, and gender, to consider various craft and cultural elements of storytelling that would apply to their narratives.

Ploi's students have been published by One Story, Tiny Love Stories in the New York Times, Fantasy Magazine, and Out There Screaming: An Anthology of New Black Horror edited by Jordan Peele and JJ Adams.

By practicing techniques, learning what to look for, and solidifying our process, students would complete the class with a strong polished draft ready to share with the world.

COURSE OUTLINE:

COURSE TAKEAWAYS:

• Leave with a deep understanding of the value of revision as part of the writing process far beyond grammatical edits with a strong sense of their own strengths, weaknesses, and proclivities when it comes to drafting and revising processes.
• Produce a revision that is original with your own individual style, tone, and interest to use and draw from for future submissions.
• Learn from published pieces and examples from editors on the different techniques available for approaching voice, point of view, pacing, structure, and language.
• Leave with efficient tips and tricks for applying and develop a revision strategy in a short time span.
• Develop a strategy for submitting to publications and using peer reviews to your advantage.

SELECTED COURSE TEXTS:

• Tips and tricks from Sigrid Nunez, George Saunders, Amy Hempel, Toni Morrison, and the instructor's own experiences.
  

By the end of the class, you will have the tools you need and polished work ready for submission.

STUDENTS LOVE PLOI:

"I have learned so much from Ploi Pirapokin’s speculative fiction workshop and have enjoyed it immensely! I don’t want it to end—not only because I’m enjoying the learning and the community of writers, but also because I’m just excited about writing again! Each week, Ploi guides us by sharing expertly curated and inspiring content on the craft of speculative fiction, plus readings of some of the best. She provides personal feedback on our responses to her weekly exercises and our workshop pieces, which I’ve found so helpful and instructive. Ploi’s approach makes me feel comfortable to dive right in and try new approaches I never have before. Since starting this workshop, I’ve had multiple ideas for new short stories and have begun writing them. Thank you, Ploi, for sharing your time and talent with writers." -Brittany G.

"Ploi is so knowledgeable and enthusiastic -- I value everything she brought to the course! I especially appreciated her focus on structure during the workshop portion of the class, as well as her question, 'How did your body respond, or what are you most aware of in a physical way reading this post?' for our workshop comments." -Maureen G.

"Thank you for being such a wonderful teacher!! Your class was such a bright spot of the week, and the conversations were always so engaging and thought provoking. Thank you for believing in us as writers! I got so much out of your workshop and all the advice, and the way you took us seriously as writers and artists, and how you pushed us to embrace how we organically tell stories, helped me take myself more seriously and is advice I’ll take with me for a long time!”

“Ms. Pirapokin’s content in the course itself was outstanding. She provided a series of texts and video presentations illustrative of the material we were studying. She made herself available not only to me, but also to all the students in the class. Her kindness radiated from her and she was very attentive to all our needs.”

“Here's the crux of the matter: by the end of the course, I was so impressed by how much of herself Ploi had put into the course that it made me work all the harder to complete assignments and do my best. That our course was concluding around election time made it difficult for everyone, but Ploi's sincerity and focus helped pull us across the finish line. You should be very happy to have such a dedicated, erudite and honest teacher on your roster.”

"This was hands down the best Catapult class I have taken so far... Ploi was warm, encouraging, insanely prepared and knowledgeable, generous... I felt so enriched afterwards and look forward to staying in community with my classmates!!" --Former Catapult Student

"Ploi was a beacon for me and my classmates. The ideal teacher to nurture creativity and confidence. She provided heartfelt knowledge and created a space to celebrate each other."--Former Catapult Student

"I'll say again, that the time you put into the Wet Ink materials was considerable and the result was powerful! Thank you for showing us the drafts of what became that awesome story! You are a talented writer and teacher! Thank you for sharing everything! " -- Heather

ONLINE COURSE STRUCTURE:

This class meets weekly via Zoom and also uses our online classroom in Wet Ink. Ploi will get you all the details after you enroll. Come prepared for a super fun class with live interaction on Zoom each week and plenty of writing, reading, and talking!

• Instructor: Ploi Pirapokin
  
• Class size limited to 10 writers
• Class Starts Tuesday, April 9th, 2024
  
• Class will meet via Zoom on Tuesdays, 7PM ET - 9PM ET
  
• This class will meet via Zoom and also have an online classroom in Wet Ink.
  

Instructor Ploi Pirapokin sits on the board for Khōréō magazine, Hivemind: Global Speculative Fiction Magazine, WP Now, the Mendocino Coast Writers’ Conference, and the Ragdale Foundation. Her work is featured in Tor.com, Pleiades, Ninth Letter, Sycamore Review, Gulf Stream Magazine, and The Art and Craft of Stories from Asia: A Writer's Guide and Anthology from Bloomsbury Academic. She has received grants and fellowships from the San Francisco Arts Commission, the Creative Capacity Fund, Headlands Center for the Arts, Djerassi, Kundiman and others. A graduate of the Clarion Writers Workshop and the MFA in Creative Writing at San Francisco State University, she currently teaches at the Writers Program at UCLA Extension, WritingWorkshops.com, Story Studio Chicago, and the University of Hong Kong.