Class Description

When readers want to know if a book is for them, they’ll often read the first chapter, whether in a bookstore or online. That’s because the first chapter tells them everything they need to know about the author and their storytelling abilities. How well do they set a scene? Do they evoke a time and place with telling details? Do their characters act and speak in ways that ring true? Does the story draw them in and make them want to read on? Does the writer possess a voice that is unique, authentic and authoritative? In this workshop, you’ll get the opportunity to road-test the first 2,500 words of your story and get a balanced, constructive critique from acclaimed novelist and teacher Howard Shrier. Hailed by critics as a master of setting, dialogue and character, Howard will help you improve your first chapter so it accomplishes everything you as a reader would expect. You’ll get feedback on your setting, characters, mood, dialogue, pace, research gaps and dramatic structure. You’ll get critiques from fellow students that round out Howard’s view. You’ll read and critique their work to sharpen your understanding of what makes a great first chapter. And the group will discuss the first chapters of debut novels by other authors to see what made them attractive to agents and publishers. You’ll emerge with more than a polished chapter: you’ll get new ideas, techniques and values to carry forward throughout the writing process. This class will be recorded and the recording made available to all registered participants. In order for each student to have ample time, this class is limited to 12 participants. (Please note: We will be skipping November 26 for Thanksgiving. The class will consist of 4 sessions.) Instructor bio: Howard Shrier is the author of six novels and one collection of stories, including four titles in the acclaimed Jonah Geller series. His debut novel Buffalo Jump, published by Random House/Vintage Canada in 2008, won the Crime Writers of Canada's award for best first novel. The sequel, High Chicago (2009), won the CWC award for best novel. Boston Cream received starred reviews in Publishers Weekly and Library Journal and a rare five-star review in Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, while Miss Montreal was shortlisted for another CWC award. Howard’s 2025 novel The American Zone, set during construction of the Panama Canal in 1906, has been called “a masterpiece of historical crime fiction” by the Seaboard Review of Books.