Explore Innovative Fiction, Hone Your Craft, and Get Professional Feedback on Your Writing

During the past two years, Daisuke Shen has secured an agent and landed a publishing deal, all while writing innovative fiction.

This course comes out of Daisuke’s deep interest in exploring complex truths, bending genres, and building worlds – all of which is of interest to many publishers, literary journals, and readers. (As Daisuke has proven, through his publishing success.)

During this course, you'll spend a month studying the art and craft of writing speculative fiction, including science fiction, weird fiction, and magical realism. You'll also generate new writing, study innovative writers, and get extensive personal feedback on your work from Daisuke Shen.

The course is for writers ready to expand their boundaries and grow their skills. As one student wrote: "Most important were the four short story writing assignments, and the encouraging, on point comments and editorial advice that Daisuke gave on each of the assignments. I can only speak for myself, but I felt growth as a writer with each assignment."

You’ll study innovative writers such as Kelly Link, China Miéville, Charles Yu, and more — including examples from these authors that illuminate valuable craft lessons applicable to any style of writing. (Allowing you to expand the boundaries of what is possible with your own writing.)

By the end of this course, you will have a polished piece ready for publication.

During the course, Daisuke will give you detailed feedback on three of your stories, and and additional round of feedback on one more story. This will allow you to generate new writing and polish your work for publication. (Based on Daisuke's deep understanding of the literary publishing market.)

During this course you will:

  • Get personal feedback on your writing every week, directly from the instructor
  • Study contemporary authors successfully publishing innovative fiction
  • Hone your craft through specific examples and thoughtful lessons
  • Get guidance on the publication process, including recommended literary journals that publish writing in each of the sub-genres presented in the course

 

The course starts on Monday, August 7th and goes until Friday, September 1st. Even after the course has finished, you will be welcome to attend office hours with all of our instructors.

You will also have a full six months to submit your work for feedback from the instructor.

Because of the intense level of personal feedback on your writing, this course is strictly limited to just 19 students.

If you are interested in joining this course, you are encouraged to sign up right away.

Enroll Now for $575 $497 (Early Bird Tuition)

Course Overview

During this workshop, you'll explore the modern literary landscape, study innovative writers, generate new writing, and polish your work for publication. The course includes in-depth feedback on your work, and guidance on the publication process.

  • Explore the modern literary landscape, with a focus on innovative fiction of interest to literary publishers.

  • Get extensive personal feedback on your writing from Daisuke Shen.

  • Personal guidance on the publishing process.

  • Access to live office hours with all of our instructors, even after the course has finished.

  • Full access to our private community of writers, so you can network with your fellow students.

About Daisuke Shen

Daisuke Shen is the author of the collaborative novella Funeral with Vi Khi Nao (KERNPUNKT Press 2023). Their debut short story collection, Vague Predictions & Prophecies , is forthcoming from CLASH Books August 2024.

His work has been published in numerous journals, including Autostraddle, Southwest Review, The Asian American Literary Review, Joyland Magazine, Maudlin House, Hobart After Dark, and more. He received his MFA in Creative Nonfiction from the University of North Carolina Wilmington in 2019, where he taught undergraduate creative writing courses for three years.

He is represented by Michael Mungiello of Inkwell Management.

As a teacher, Daisuke is passionate about supporting his student’s visions for their writing and discusses the craft of fiction using different narrative traditions throughout the world. He is enthusiastic about providing them with resources, thoughtful feedback, and encouragement as they continue building their careers. You can read more of his work at www.daisukeshen.com.

Workshop Schedule

The course starts on Monday, August 7th and ends on Friday, September 1st. The course comes with daily lessons you can study on your own time, and interaction with Daisuke Shen. Everything is provided online, through the digital learning platform hosted by Thinkific.

Note that you will have up to six months after the course finishes to submit your writing for feedback. Also note that you will have access to office hours even after the course is complete.

  • Daily lessons, available to study any time on our online learning platform, hosted by Thinkific.

  • Personal feedback and discussion via email, our online discussion platform, or our private Facebook Group.

  • Weekly opportunities to submit your work for detailed feedback from the instructor.

Enroll Now

Enrollment is strictly limited to 19 students.
Early bird tuition is available until July 24th.

What Daisuke Shen's Students Have to Say

“Daisuke is a wonderful caring teacher, full of love and encouragement… The edits on my work were absolutely wonderful and to the point. I loved the edits, and the direction they gave me to expand the piece. ”

Radhika Iyer

“As for Daisuke, I can't sing their praises loud enough! The amount of editing they did to my work showed that they wanted to provide feedback, would not be content with a brief and cursory glance, and truly wanted to make me feel as if they had fully read and thought about what I wrote. Definitely what I hoped to see in an editor and I was not disappointed.”

Andrew Long

“Thank you Daisuke for your patient and encouraging way of teaching. I can tell you really care about your students' progress and I loved reading all of your thoughtful comments in the discussion. ”

Kate Grono

“Daisuke’s lecture and discussion materials presented a wonderfully nuanced vision of what a story can be. I truly appreciated this divergence from conventional—often cookie-cutter—approaches to teaching the story. Highly recommended.”

Greg Miller

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“I like Daisuke's teaching style. So very down to earth and real ... Daisuke had such great feedback to all the students' submissions. Praise was heart felt and suggestions and critiques were honest while being supportive. It was a privilege being part of this class. ”

Sandra Sullivan

FAQ

  • What is the course schedule?

    The course starts on Monday, August 7th and ends on Friday, September 1st. Each week, we will release five lessons that you can study on your own time. These will be a mix of text-based lessons, recommended essays, and pre-recorded lectures. Each lesson comes with text-based discussion with the instructor and the class.

    At the end of each week, you will have the opportunity to submit an assignment to the instructor for in-depth feedback.

    There will also be two office hour sessions held via Zoom, which will be recorded for those who cannot attend live. They have not yet been scheduled.

    Note, that if you fall behind on the course, you will have a full six months to complete the course and submit your work for feedback from the instructor.

  • How much time will the course require?

    Overall, expect to spend around 30 minutes a day on the course. Some days will require less work, some days will require more.

    Lessons are released weekly, which gives you flexibility. Based on our experience with other courses, some students do the bulk of their work in one or two days each week, while others spend a little bit of time each day on our courses.

    Note, that if you fall behind, you will have a full six months to complete the course and submit your work for feedback from the instructor. You will also be welcome to attend live Zoom office hours after the course is officially over.

  • How many students will be allowed to enroll?

    Because of the personal feedback Daisuke is providing, the workshop is strictly limited to 19 students. Once we reach that number we will immediately close enrollment.