MasterClass - Amy Tan Teaches Fiction, Memory, and Imagination

Amy Tan was 33 before she first explored her voice as a fiction author. A few years later, her debut novel, The Joy Luck Club, spent 40 weeks on The New York Times bestseller list. Now she’s showing you her approach to the challenges and joy of self-discovery through writing. Learn how to craft compelling beginnings and endings, find your voice, and embrace your emotional memory to bring powerful narratives to life.

Through poignant storytelling, Amy Tan’s first novel, The Joy Luck Club, became a surprise bestseller and set her on a new path as a fiction writer. All of her novels since—including The Kitchen God’s Wife, The Hundred Secret Senses, The Bonesetter’s Daughter, Saving Fish From Drowning, and The Valley of Amazement—have also become New York Times bestsellers.

Born in the U.S. to immigrants from China, Amy navigated personal tragedy as a young woman and has relied on her unique life experiences to weave authentic emotion through her novels, her memoir, children’s books, articles, and other works. Now the acclaimed author is taking you on a journey of self-expression and truth-seeking through fiction writing. Learn how to draw from deep emotional memory to uncover truths about yourself and the world around you—and use those discoveries to bring powerful narratives to life on the page.

This online class includes lessons on:

• Finding your writing voice
• Drawing from emotional memories and imagination for fiction writing
• Discovering personal truths through fiction writing
• Research and observation
• Beginning stories and novels
• Developing a compelling narrative point of view
• Developing complex and likable characters
• Revising your writing
• Accessing creativity and inspiration
• Dealing with writer’s block and rejection
• The makings of the book and film The Joy Luck Club
• Creating satisfying endings