Fiction: Craft Workshop

Read like a Writer | Write like a Reader

Each one of us has a unique voice, one that's distinctly ours when we're not thinking about it. The voice changes when we're coercing a child, yelling at our dog to come in, presenting data to strangers, cooing with a lover or yelping at the sight of a snake in the grass. For a writer, I suspect that, when we're thinking about (or channeling) characters, we conjure up these familiar nuances. When we read, or when stories are read to us, the character's voice is how we get to know them.

Style is how we actually write that voice, the tense we use, how we write dialogue, even the look on the page. And there's something also called "mood." Today, writers are stylistically all over the place.

Today's reading is George Saunders "Mother's Day" scanned from the New Yorker Magazine. If you've read his short story collections, you'll recognize his singular voice, so let's look into this story to pull out elements of his style.

The second part of the workshop will be reading out loud opening paragraphs culled from writers as diverse as Steinbeck, Murakami, Elena Ferrante, George Eliot, Delillo. We'll talk about indirect vs direct, dialogue (even quotes? no quotes?) and whatever else comes up, and then, working from prompts, we'll explore elements of works in progress or else generate something entirely new inspired by the readings and, most importantly, each other.

All writers interested in fiction are welcome. And, although the question of "what exactly is fiction" will always come up, we're not discussing personal narratives or memoir here, unless fictionalized.

This is the second in a series begun in January, scheduled twice monthly from through June 31, 2019. Be sure to visit the BWW website for a feature story on this upcoming workshop:

http://burlingtonwritersworkshop.com/2019/04/08/reading-writer-writing-burlington-workshop-april-20/

Files will be found here:
http://burlingtonwritersworkshop.com/files/

Download and read these files. You don't have to print them out, just have them available on your device for the workshop.

0420_Burlington_Saunders.pdf
0420_Burlington_craft.pdf

Get directions and parking information http://burlingtonwritersworkshop.com/about/location/directions-parking/

Contact me at retreats@burlingtonwritersworkshop.com

Workshop leader: Riki Moss, a BWW member since 2015, attending and leading workshops and retreats as she struggles through a hair-pulling draft of her second novel. Her first, An Obese Gentleman In No Apparent Distress (North Atlantic Press) was a fictionalized collaboration. She has an MFA from Vermont College of Fine Arts, has several short stories in anthologies, and a previous life as a potter/sculptor.