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Building Blocks of Fiction: Point of View
February 24 @ 9:30 am - 12:30 pm
$45 – $70
write@writespacehouston.org
INSTRUCTOR: Joy Preble
TIME: Saturday, February 24, 9:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. CST
PRICE: Early bird price: $45 for members, $60 for nonmembers. The deadline for early bird pricing is Sunday, February 18. After Sunday, February 18: $55 for members, $70 for nonmembers. Become a member here. Apply for a scholarship here.
LOCATION: Writespace, 1907 Sabine Street, #125, Houston, TX 77007 (map)
LEVEL: All levels
CAP: 15
Point of view is one of the most important choices an author can make because it impacts how readers see and respond to the story. Through whose eyes is the story being told? Through the eyes of a character as he experiences the story’s events (1st person present), through an unnamed narrator (3rd person omniscient), or through a narrator who shares the thoughts of just one character (3rd person limited)?
If a story doesn’t seem to be going anywhere, often the problem lies in point of view. For instance, perhaps we aren’t telling the right character’s story. Or, we are telling the right character’s story, but we aren’t telling her story from the right point of view. When the story is told (before or after events), why it is told, and who does the telling are all powerful decisions each writer must make. It’s easy to give attention to the more glamorous aspects of craft such as character arcs, plot, and tension, but profound discoveries await those willing to explore point of view. All levels of experience are welcome in this hands-on workshop. To help free up our stories, we will read and analyze examples of point of view in successful novels, and then apply our newfound knowledge to our own writing. Come prepared to write, revise, and experiment.
Please bring the first three to five pages of a novel or short story you’re working on, as well as a laptop or a notepad and pen or pencil.
This event is funded in part by the City of Houston through Houston Arts Alliance. This project is generously funded by the Houston Mayor’s Office of Cultural Affairs, and Mid-America Arts Alliance.
