Writers Who Read: The Candy House - Jennifer Egan

April's meeting--IN PERSON at the Boulder Library Main Branch 2nd floor Flatirons Meeting Room & ONLINE (see link when you register)--is The Candy House by Jennifer Egan (USA, 2022) on Sunday starting at 2:30 pm (for 2 hours). Facilities information here.

ADDITIONAL REQUIRED READING: Language and Grammar

Who else but Egan could transform the bathos of social media and the negation of our private lives into a metaphor for writers and writing? Egan reprises some of the minor characters from her major classic, A Visit From the Goon Squad, and crafts its equal, if not its better. The chapter written only in email threads is a minor masterpiece. Rock and roll forever!

We are Writers Who Read. We use Literary Forensics to dissect a recent novel (published within the past 18 months) with the goal of uncovering how the author has utilized their skills for effect. Storytelling is an art, but it's not a mystery. Every writer must address the following:

• Structure, Timeline, Pacing, Suspense, Omission
• Point of View, including Voice, Character, Place
• Language, Tense, Imagery, Metaphor, Symbols
• Motivation: Making a story pop - generating a thrill
• Why this story? And why now? Industry considerations

We ask that all attendees read the entire book in advance of the meeting, and come bearing their discoveries of how the author has addressed each of the five points above.

What is Literary Forensics? Find out here: https://www.garyalanmcbride.com/literary-forensics/