Writers Who Read LIVE!: Butcher - Joyce Carol Oates

May's hybrid meeting--IN PERSON at the Boulder Library Main Branch ground floor Boulder Creek Room & ONLINE (see link when you register)--is Butcher by Joyce Carol Oates (USA, 2024) on Sunday starting at 2:30 pm (for 2 hours).

Dr. Silas Weir, the mid-19th century “Father of Gyno-Psychiatry,” is woefully under-educated and ill-prepared to deal with women’s health issues. Humiliated by his ineptitude, Weir is forced to take a position at the New Jersey Asylum for Female Lunatics, where the title of Oates’s 62nd novel reveals its chilling meaning. Not a tale for the faint of heart.

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.

More information about other Writers Who Read meetings and our WwR Podcast can be found at: https://WritersWhoRead.com