"The Great courses, Topic: Literature & Language ; Subtopic: Writing"--Cover. "Course no. 2541"--Disc labels. 24 lectures lasting 30 minutes each. Accompanying CD-ROM contains course workbook in PDF format. Lecturer: James Hynes, novelist and writing instructor.
Contents:
Disc 4. Making a life as a fiction writer. Building fictional worlds through evocation ; How characters are different from people ; Fictional characters, imagined and observed ; Call me Ishmael: introducing a character ; Characters: round and flat, major and minor -- Disc 2. Mechanics of writing dialogue ; Integrating dialogue into a narrative ; And then: turning a story into a plot ; Plotting with the Freytag pyramid ; Adding complexity to plots ; Structuring a narrative without a plot -- Disc 3. In the beginning: how to start a plot ; Happily ever after: how to end a plot ; Seeing through other eye: point of view ; I, me, mine: first-person point of view ; He, she, it: third person point of view ; Evoking setting and place in fiction -- Disc 4. Pacing in scenes and narratives ; Building scenes ; Should I write in drafts ; Revision without tears ; Approaches to researching fiction ; Making a life as a fiction writer.
Summary:
Whether you're huddled around the campfire, composing an email to a friend, or sitting down to write a novel, storytelling is fundamental to human nature. But as any writer can tell you, the blank page can be daunting. It's tough to know where to get started, what details to include in each scene, and how to move from the kernel of an idea to a completed manuscript. Writing great fiction isn't a gift reserved for the talented few. There is a craft to storytelling that can be learned, and studying the fiction writer's techniques can be incredibly rewarding--both personally and professionally.
This resource is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by State Library of Iowa.