Class Starts Tuesday, May 13th, 2025

Class will meet weekly via Zoom (Tuesdays, 7:00PM CST - 9:00PM CST).

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

Taught by Chaitali Sen, the author of the novel The Pathless Sky (Europa Editions, 2015) and short stories and essays which have appeared in Boulevard, Colorado Review, Ecotone, LitHub, Los Angeles Review of Books, New England Review, Electric Literature, Shenandoah, and other publications. Her Kirkus-starred story collection, A New Race of Men from Heaven, was selected by Danielle Evans as the winner of the 2021 Mary McCarthy Prize for Short Fiction and was published Sarabande Books. A graduate of the Hunter College MFA in Fiction, she is currently a PhD candidate in Creative Writing and Literature at University of Houston, where she is the recipient of the Inprint J.A. and Isabel M. Elkins Foundation Fellowship and a graduate teaching fellowship.

Revision can be the most rewarding part of the writing process, but it can also be the most overwhelming. During revision, your manuscript might get worse before it gets better, so how do you go through that without getting stuck in the mess and losing your way entirely?

In this class, we’ll practice a layering approach to revision – learning how to identify the issues and sweeping through your manuscript to address one issue at a time.

Students will develop and practice a systematic approach to revising a memoir or fiction draft. We will learn how to achieve distance from our work and write objectively about what it’s trying to say; to identify problems in executing various craft elements such as plot, characterization, setting, and pacing; brainstorm solutions to those problems and a strategic plan of action.

This class should get you energized for the hard but exciting work of revising your manuscript and will provide a supportive environment to discuss our projects and talk through the revision process.

Students will receive independent assignments during the week related to the project they are trying to revise. We will also celebrate “a-ha” moments and get some other perspectives on revision from writers and editors. 

COURSE TAKEAWAYS:

• A systematic revision plan for your project.
• A way to look objectively at your writing.

By the end of the class, you will have the tools you need for the next step in your writing process.

STUDENTS LOVE CHAITALI:

"Chaiti's class on revision was my last step before querying and I'm so happy I had the opportunity to take it. As a list-driven person, I really liked how she broke down revision into actionable steps. I felt like I touched every part of my novel in a very systematic way that also left room for creativity. After her class, I was ready to proceed and signed with an agent about two months later!" -Amanda Churchill, TURTLE HOUSE upcoming from Harper Books early 2024

"Chaitali Sen's class on revision exceeded my expectations. It was one of the best courses I've ever taken and I found the class and material to be invaluable. I would highly recommend this class." -Pen W.

"I loved Chaitali Sen's class on revision. It was wonderful! Organized, thoughtful and she gave us a rigorous and thoughtful approach to revision that focuses on refining our core ideas/themes. I loved the hand outs and activities!" - Patricia F.

"This was one of the best classes I've taken. I really appreciated the mixture of handouts, discussion, prompts, and some time to work on our writing. Great class!! Would definitely recommend to others."

"There were moments when you heard the entire class go 'ohhh' in a collective understanding of something that seems simple and obvious but clearly wasn't. Came away with excellent tips and direction."

"I went home and started revising my manuscript using her method."

“Chaitali’s sage guidance has taken me from (very) rough draft to submittable manuscript, not just once but several times. She is a wizard at spotting what needs to be fixed, what needs to be added, and what needs to be discarded. She also shines as a counselor on the overall structure of the story.”

ONLINE COURSE STRUCTURE:

This class meets weekly via Zoom. Come prepared for a super fun class with live interaction on Zoom each week and plenty of writing, reading, and talking!

• Instructor: Chaitali Sen
  

• Class Starts Tuesday, May 13th, 2025
  

• Course is fully ONLINE and will meet weekly via Zoom on Tuesdays from 7:00PM - 9:00PM CST.
  

Instructor Chaitali Sen is the author of the novel The Pathless Sky (Europa Editions, 2015) and short stories and essays which have appeared in Boulevard, Colorado Review, Ecotone, LitHub, Los Angeles Review of Books, New England Review, Shenandoah, and other publications. Her story collection A New Race of Men from Heaven was selected by Danielle Evans as the winner of the 2021 Mary McCarthy Prize for Short Fiction and is forthcoming from Sarabande Books in January 2023. The Pathless Sky was a finalist for the Texas Institute of Letters Award for Best First Fiction, and included on Idra Novey’s Buzzfeed list “10 Books That Challenge Our Political Landscape by Inventing New Ones,” Library Journal’s “Top Fall Indie Fiction,” and Mic.com’s “25 Essential Reads to Make Women’s History Last Longer than a Month.” She holds an MFA in Fiction from Hunter College and lives in Smithville, Texas. Learn more via her website here.