Conference Schedule 2019
Saturday, February 23, 2019, 4:15 p.m. - 5:15 p.m.
Is Happiness Interesting?: The Craft of Writing Joy with Annie Vitalsey
Date(s): Saturday, February 23, 2019, 4:15 p.m. - 5:15 p.m.
Location: Tooker, Old Main (view map)
Type(s): Craft Talk, Presentation
Genre and Form(s): Creative Nonfiction, Fiction, Mixed Genre, Short Stories
Tags: Happiness, Joy, Character, Narrative
About the Session
Why is it so hard to write about happiness? Are happy characters boring? Where is the conflict in joy? In this session we’ll explore the pitfalls of writing joyful stories and characters, and discuss why as writers we often shy away from writing the happy. With an eye toward the craft of character development and narrative structure, as well as lenses from ancient and modern philosophy, we’ll dissect diverse examples of “happy” stories and figure out what makes them work.