SATURDAY, August 15th |*Registration closes at 5pm on 8/14
A good sentence can insinuate languidly or chop like a machete. Whether taut and short or long and languorous, a sentence exists to convey information. But how? With so many ways of saying something, how do we as creative writers find the words and structure best suited to our story, our characters, our deeper meaning?
In this 3-hour session, in-class prompts and up-close analysis will show techniques to make your sentences work for you. We’ll play with syntax, rhythm, and figures of speech such as epanados and anaphora (two kinds of repetition). We’ll examine a variety of sentences by published writers, with an eye to how we can “steal” from the masters while staying true to our own voice. We’ll look at the power of verbs and of nouns in conveying tone and mood as well as content. We’ll practice quick and effective ways to revise and polish sentences – whether standing on their own or combined with others. And, always, we’ll celebrate the irresistible allure of well-crafted language.
Students are asked to bring ½ page of a current work-in-progress to class (prose only, please). Working on Zoom will allow us to screen-share as we revise these samples together. Students will leave class with a revision and a solid grasp of techniques to put to use on their own.
Lindsey Crittenden is the author of The Water Will Hold You, a memoir (which Publishers Weekly called “exquisitely written”), and an award-winning collection of stories, The View from Below. Her short fiction, essays, and articles have appeared in the New York Times, the Washington Post, Best American Spiritual Writing, Glimmer Train, Cimarron Review, and elsewhere. She loves arranging and re-arranging sentences and has taught writing for more than 30 years.