This is an in-person workshop that takes place at Inprint House
What Now: Demystifying the Mechanics and Big Middle of the Novel
The middle. It can be the most intimidating part of any novel for writers; the pages where creative energy can wane, and propulsive ideas run dry. But there’s a whole toolbox writers can use to keep readers turning pages after the high of the first few chapters wears off, and before the mad dash toward the ending begins.
In this workshop, we’ll look closely at the factors that keep a reader hooked through the middle, whether they be the ticking clocks and high stakes of more plot-focused fiction, or the interiority and character dynamics of more relationship-based fiction. We’ll read excerpts and diagram plots from books that keep us entertained the whole way through. We will closely examine the structure of two novels, Kailene Bradley’s The Ministry of Time, and Liz Moore’s God of the Woods, analyzing how these writers use the tools of plot and style to craft compulsively readable stories. We’ll identify and borrow some of Moore and Bradley’s stylistic choices for generative in-class exercises to draft scenes that develop both character and plot. Using our close structural analysis of these two model novels, we will craft a detailed outline or synopsis for a novel-length project. Students can choose to submit these outlines, a collection of key scenes, or a combination of the two for feedback from the workshop.