Le Guin Portal

How do you world-build without losing your reader? In this module, we will consider techniques on the scene level to embed world-building seamlessly into your narrative without bogging the reader down in exposition. Considering examples from J.R.R. Tolkien, Ursula K. Le Guin and Frank Herbert, we will learn from the masters to bring your world to vivid life. Focusing on viewpoint, characterization, word choice, and narrative conflict, we will workshop how to draw your reader in and make your universe feel like a real place. No matter your genre, this module will enrich your commercial fiction and help make your vision a reality.


Note: For more information about the Collaborative Feedback Method in SPACE, please check out our video here.

In this class we will explore some of the major texts and movements within historical Daoism, especially Laozi, Zhuangzi, and Daoist alchemy and long-life practices. We will also examine how some of these Daoist concepts are incorporated by Ursula K. Le Guin into her speculative fiction.

Ursula K. Le Guin explores themes of power, love, nature, gender, art, politics, and more through her richly-developed world of Earthsea, drawing upon literary, philosophical, religious, and anthropological interests in doing so. We will walk on the islands of Earthsea and dive into its waters as we discover beloved, and maybe hidden or controversial, aspects of Le Guin’s masterpiece.

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The Earthsea Series consists of 3 modules exploring a different Cycle of Le Guin's expansive work:
• Module 1 explores A Wizard of Earthsea and The Tombs of Atuan,
• Module 2 explores The Farthest Shore and Tehanu, and
• Module 3 explores The Other Wind and Tales from Earthsea
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NOTE: Students can jump in at any month/part of the Series.

This present module is for Module 1 of the Earthsea Series, exploring A Wizard of Earthsea and The Tombs of Atuan.

Ursula K. Le Guin explores themes of power, love, nature, gender, art, politics, and more through her richly-developed world of Earthsea, drawing upon literary, philosophical, religious, and anthropological interests in doing so. We will walk on the islands of Earthsea and dive into its waters as we discover beloved, and maybe hidden or controversial, aspects of Le Guin’s masterpiece.

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
The Earthsea Series consists of 3 modules exploring a different Cycle of Le Guin's expansive work:
• Module 1 explores A Wizard of Earthsea and The Tombs of Atuan,
• Module 2 explores The Farthest Shore and Tehanu, and
• Module 3 explores The Other Wind and Tales from Earthsea
••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
NOTE: Students can jump in at any month/part of the Series.

This present module is for Module 2 of the Earthsea Series, exploring_The Farthest Shore_ and Tehanu.

Ursula K. Le Guin explores themes of power, love, nature, gender, art, politics, and more through her richly-developed world of Earthsea, drawing upon literary, philosophical, religious, and anthropological interests in doing so. We will walk on the islands of Earthsea and dive into its waters as we discover beloved, and maybe hidden or controversial, aspects of Le Guin’s masterpiece.

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
The Earthsea Series consists of 3 modules exploring a different Cycle of Le Guin's expansive work:
• Module 1 explores A Wizard of Earthsea and The Tombs of Atuan,
• Module 2 explores The Farthest Shore and Tehanu, and
• Module 3 explores The Other Wind and Tales from Earthsea
••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
NOTE: Students can jump in at any month/part of the Series.

This present module is for Module 3 of the Earthsea Series, exploring_The Other Wind_ and Tales from Earthsea.

Ursula K. Le Guin explores themes of power, love, nature, gender, art, politics, and more through her richly-developed world of Earthsea, drawing upon literary, philosophical, religious, and anthropological interests in doing so. We will walk on the islands of Earthsea and dive into its waters as we discover beloved, and maybe hidden or controversial, aspects of Le Guin’s masterpiece.

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
The Earthsea Series consists of 3 modules exploring a different Cycle of Le Guin's expansive work:
• Module 1 explores A Wizard of Earthsea and The Tombs of Atuan,
• Module 2 explores The Farthest Shore and Tehanu, and
• Module 3 explores The Other Wind and Tales from Earthsea
••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
NOTE: Students can jump in at any month/part of the Series.

What are the tools of the writer’s craft, and how can we sharpen them? In this module, we will learn about the writer’s toolkit through guided writing exercises and group discussion. We will use exercises from Ursula K Le Guin’s book Steering the Craft: A 21st-Century Guide to Sailing the Sea of Story to explore tools like pacing, narration, point of view, syntax, and diction. Practice your writing technique, hone your craft, and embark on a journey with us through the “Sea of Story.”


Note: For more information about the Collaborative Feedback Method in SPACE, please check out our video here.