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Course Description

Bestselling author Joy Fielding guides you on your quest to write your own bestseller. Grab readers in chapter one and don't let them go. Create stories with themes that touch a common cord.  Fielding's course emphasizes structure and vivid characterization as the secrets to selling your story.

Summer Writing School courses are applicable to the Certificate in Creative Writing.

Learning Outcomes

  • Understand the difference between “literary” and “commercial” fiction.
  • Analyze what makes a book popular.
  • Understand the basic techniques of writing genre fiction, such as suspense.
  • Learn how to write an outline of your book.
  • Complete an opening chapter.

This course may be applied towards the SCS Certificate(s) in

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Type
In-Class
Days
M, T, W, Th, F
Time
10:00AM to 4:00PM
Dates
Jul 06, 2026 to Jul 10, 2026
Schedule and Location
View Details
Contact Hours
20.0
Campus
  • St. George Campus
Delivery Options
IN-CLASS  
Course Fees
Flat Fee non-credit $699.00 Click here to get more information
Instructors
Section Notes

Enrolment is open until June 26th. If you have difficulty registering, please contact our Enrolment and Learner Services team at 416-978-2400

Submission Requirements: This course requires submission of student work. The submission should be an excerpt from your novel-in-progress, a maximum 10 pages, double-spaced, in a standard font. If the excerpt is not from the beginning, please include a short paragraph at the top of the document with some plot info and anything else we might need to know. Submissions will be posted on Quercus for your instructor and classmates to view, and distributed three days before the course begins. Please read all submissions and be prepared to workshop before the first day of class.
Instructions: Your submission must be email to by 9:00AM June 3rd to scs.writing@utoronto.ca with the subject line and file saved as: First initial, Last name_Course Code (ex.: J, Smith_1825-012)

Required reading: Cul-de-sac (ISBN 9781984820259), and The Housekeeper (ISBN 978-0-593-87317-5) by Joy Fielding, published by Doubleday Canada.
Recommended reading: Still Life, and She’s Not There by Joy Fielding

Summer Writing School Schedule:
Mon 10:00AM - 12:00PM and 1:30PM - 2:30PM Instructor Readings 3:00PM - 4:00PM
Tue 10:00AM - 12:00PM and 1:30PM - 3:30PM
Wed 10:00AM - 12:00PM and 1:30PM - 2:30PM Panel Discussion 3:00PM - 4:00PM
Thu 10:00AM - 12:00PM and 1:30PM - 3:30PM
Fri 10:00AM - 12:00PM and 1:30PM - 2:30PM Student Readings 3:00PM - 4:00PM

Withdrawal & Accessibility:
Deadline to withdraw from The U of T Summer Writing School is 4:00PM Friday, June 26th. To withdraw, please email learn@utoronto.ca.
For accessibility information, please email: scs.accessibility@utoronto.ca.

This in-class course uses Quercus (UofT Learning Management Engine) to post course materials.

Go here for information on when you will receive your access information.

For technical requirements, please go here.

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