Earthsea, Narnia, Middle Earth, and Westeros. Or Camelot, Ancient Greece, and contemporary Britain. A fantasy novel has the ability to transport us to worlds new and old, to make the familiar excitedly unfamiliar. If you have grown up on classics like The Hobbit or The Chronicles of Narnia, and shifted towards contemporary classics like the Mistborn series or The Poppy War trilogy, you’re familiar with Fantasy’s staying power as a genre uniquely suited to both speaking to our current world, and providing an escape from it.

Led by an ardent lover of the fantasy genre, author Paula Lafferty, this very special iteration of Not Sorry’s annual fiction writing class focuses on Fantasy—a genre which expands the imaginations and creativity of writers and transports readers. If you are eager to engage in world-building, character development, and plot crafting, this is the class for you! Join us for: Bad First Draft: Writing Fantasy.

In this course, Paula will guide students both well-acquainted with and new to the genre through the craft of plot, pacing, characterization, and world-building. In the first half of the course, students will encounter an in-depth analysis of Fantasy novels to get a sense of specific genre demands and learn how to meet them while honoring their own voices and interests.

In the second half of the course, we write! Students will have the opportunity to build 50,000 words (or less) of their own Fantasy novel. This section will be facilitated by our CEO and Fantasy novel enthusiast, Vanessa Zoltan. And by the end of the course, you’ll have a solid “Bad First Draft”—or the foundation of one—as well as the spark and confidence to keep writing and revising.

Please note, you do not need to be familiar with Fantasy novels to join the class. We believe using Fantasy novels as our foundational texts will enrich writers of all fiction genres and subgenres.

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Pricing and Logistics

Tuition: Full Tuition $475 | Reduced Tuition (Scholarship): $375

At Not Sorry, we trust folks to purchase the ticket that suits their financial situation best. If you require a scholarship, please utilize our Reduced Tuition tier while supplies last.

Registration Details: As soon as you buy your ticket, you will receive an email from programs@notsorryproductions.com confirming your spot and sharing the Zoom links for the class. One zoom link will offer entry to the October classes, and a separate zoom link will permit you to the November co-writing sessions. 

Please add programs@notsorryproductions.com to your address book so you do not miss communication from our team upon registration.

You’ll receive an email from the course TA 48 hours prior to the first class meeting.

Registration closes on Friday, October 2nd.

Dates: Sundays, October 4 - November 22, 2026, 2:00-3:30pm ET

Instructor Note: Paula will lead the four October courses and one Q&A in November. Vanessa Zoltan, author, podcaster, and CEO of Not Sorry, will lead the co-writing sessions in November, which will combine students from both tracks of Bad First Draft.

Recording: Classes will be recorded for asynchronous viewing, but the course is best experienced if you attend each session live.

Enrollment: There is no registration limit to this course, so the class could be anywhere from 10-100 folks, with ample opportunity for small group interaction.

Refunds: 90% refunds can be issued to participants if they can no longer join. Full refunds are not available.

Questions? Email our programs team atprograms@notsorryproductions.com, and we’ll return your message within 2-3 business days.