What is the difference between plot and story? And how might characters drive both? In this workshop, we’ll talk about the importance of differentiating between what happens and how it happens in an effort to ground narrative in the stakes of characters acting and reacting to the world around them. We’ll discuss short stories by Lauren Groff, Lu Lang, Tommy Orange, and Nicole Krauss, among others. In-class exercises will focus on writing characters based on the opposite of you, recognizing the stakes in character, and balancing story and plot to create a more cohesive narrative which can be applied to short fiction but also novels and memoirs.
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Inprint Intensive Workshops, Writers Workshops,
FICTION: PLOT VS. STORY 2019-104
About the instructor
DANIEL PEÑA is the author of the novel, Bang, from Arte Publico Press, a Pushcart Prize winning writer, and an Assistant Professor at the University of Houston-Downtown. His writing can be seen in NBC News, the Guardian, and VICE, among other outlets. He’s a regular contributor to the Ploughshares blog where he covers Latinx Literature.
By registering for an Inprint Writers Workshop you are agreeing to Inprint’s registration policies. Remember to sign up for the waiting list if the workshop you would like to take is full. To see the full Winter/Spring 2019 workshop schedule click here.
