Where the Devil Is: The Craft of Specific Detail with Tara Ison
Date(s): Saturday, September 15, 2018, 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
Location: Piper Writers House, 450 E Tyler Mall, Tempe, AZ 85281 (view map)
Type(s): Discussion, Workshop
Genre and Form(s): Fiction
About the Class
"Vivid detail is the life blood of fiction...in all major genres, the inner strategy is the same: the reader is regularly presented with proofs - in the form of closely observed details - that what is said to be happening is really happening." - John Gardner, The Art of Fiction
Those "closely observed details" are what make our stories come alive, and engage the reader in both the external world we're creating, and the inner-lives of our characters. In this workshop/discussion, we'll discuss strategies for honing in on the illuminating the "telling detail," and explore how the selection of realistic, concrete, and specific details can help us create verisimilitude, illustrate theme, establish narrative authority, develop an idiosyncratic voice, and avoid generic cliché.
