Technical Seminar in Nonfiction: Autopsy of a Scene

Few things are as effective in capturing the attention of a reader than well crafted scenes. The creation of the illusion of movement, time and the sensory experience is by no means an easy task, however, and it must take into consideration pacing, punctuation, spatial references and white space among a vicissitude of other elements. In addition, there is the added difficulty of the nonfiction scene, the role of research, the limitations of first-person accounts and the distortion of memory. This course is intended to address these questions through a series of readings, lectures and writing prompts designed to dissect the matter at hand and equip the writer with the necessary tools to build a well-paced and effective scene.

Day/Time: Thursday, 2:40-5:40