In this advanced four-week class, students with a complete or nearly completed draft of a novel will dive into the most important stage of any book’s development: revision. Through a series of exercises, workshops, and discussions, we’ll talk about the hefty structural edits that will elevate your manuscript. Topics include establishing and amplifying underlying structure; marrying character arc to plot; establishing what kind of story you’re writing; and more. Each student will have the opportunity to exchange a draft with a partner and to receive feedback on portions of their book in class. Throughout the course, we’ll also talk about positioning your book in the marketplace and preparing to query agents. 

Please note that this class is application-based: you’ll be required to submit a brief application outlining your interest and progress on your novel. If accepted, you’ll be sent a link to register and pay for the class.

Fill out the application here.

Instructor: Emily Cataneo

Dates: Begins Tuesday, May 27, 2025 and runs every Tuesday for four weeks

Time: 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.

Level: Beginner and above

Location: online (hosted on Zoom)

10 seats max

$430: true price

$260: base price

$285, $310, $360: donate an extra $25, $50, or $100 to our scholarship fund

(Returning students receive 10 percent off).

A note on pricing:  the “true price” reflects the true cost of the class, which includes paying a fair wage to our staff and instructors, rental fees for the Redbud headquarters and for the community spaces where we host our classes, website and administrative/commerce fees, outreach and advertising to spread the word about our offerings, and the coordination and administration for our community classes, which serve people who could not otherwise access creative writing. We’re not a university or a large corporation and that means we don’t have an operating budget we can rely on; we’re proud to be a small, local, women- and minority-run business that is passionate about bringing the transformative power of the arts to our community. Your tuition helps Redbud with the critical work of keeping the arts accessible to the public. 

We also offer students a chance to donate to our scholarship fund. At check-out, you will be given the option of choosing a donor price. If you choose one of these prices, the extra $25, $50, or $100 will go towards scholarships for students who would not be able to afford our classes otherwise.  Thank you in advance for considering making a contribution to inclusivity and access!

Read the fine print, including our refund policy, here.