The Nature of Narrative

There are still a few spots left in my spring class. Details below. Let me know if you’d like to sign up.

All best,

Nick O’Connell

The Nature of Narrative: Spring Creative Writing Class

The Nature of Narrative will introduce you to the essential building blocks of dramatic writing, whether in fiction, nonfiction or film. The alternating pattern of scene and sequel forms the basis of all dramatic writing, pulling readers into your story and not letting them go until the end. This pattern is as essential as breathing, but is often misunderstood by writers. This eight-week course will show you how to incorporate these techniques in your own work to provide drama, pacing, tension and resolution in your creative nonfiction, short stories, novels and memoirs.

The Seattle writing course will run March 18 to April 29 on Wednesday evenings (and on Monday evening, March 23) from 7 to 9 p.m. in Room 221 of the Good Shepherd Center in Seattle’s Wallingford neighborhood (4649 Sunnyside Avenue North).

In addition to the classroom work, I’ll schedule individual conferences with each of you. This will give me a chance to go over your story or book chapter with you one-on-one and suggest ways to improve it. There will be six assignments: a 150-word story idea or book concept statement, a 250-word stimulus-response scene, a 150-word character sketch, a 1500- to 2500-word story or book chapter and its revision, and the creation of a blog, website, Amazon author page or Facebook page. The cost will be $625 per person. Texts: Jack Bickham’s Scene and Structure and Norman Maclean’s A River Runs Through It. Both titles are available at the Elliott Bay Book Company.

To enroll, please send a check for $625 to Nick O’Connell, 201 Newell St., Seattle, WA 98109 or click on the Buy Now button below to pay with a credit card. The course is limited to 15 participants and usually fills several weeks prior to the start of class. For more information, contact me.