Hello, writers!
We are so pleased to introduce our new seasonal series of classes, Writing Nights! Each season we'll be diving deep into a theme, meeting weekly over Zoom with a group of writers of any experience level, offering mini-lectures and guided exercises, and providing our best answers to your questions. We'd be thrilled if you'd join us!
This summer, our theme is How to Say It: Strengthening Dialogue and Interiority in Fiction. It takes place on Thursday evenings from 5:00 - 6:15 Pacific/8:00-9:15 Eastern, from June 5th through July 3rd. The classes will be recorded in case you can't make it live.
In life, what we say out loud to others can clarify or obscure. We can spill our hearts out or lie or withhold. We can change the trajectory of a life through what we say or choose not to say. And what we tell ourselves is how we make meaning from our circumstances, how we interpret the events of our lives and the actions of the people around us.
So how do we apply this to fiction?
In the best of writing experiences, the things a character says can surprise and shock the writer herself, leading to a breakthrough, a deeper understanding of the character or story, or a thrilling discovery.
The taut back-and-forth verbal sparring of two characters in dialogue, the quiet revelatory inner monologue of a protagonist, the frank direct address… all of these have the power to propel your story, deepen its humanity and themes, and provide layers of complexity.
And by diving deep, we allow ourselves—and our future readers—to fully understand and inhabit the characters’ experiences, leading to richer and more compelling stories.
