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The Writing Life

Writing Life Daytime Talk: Dylan Landis, Close Reading: Reading Like a Writer

Tuesday, March 13, 2012 - 10:00 AM | Whitridge Room

In this session we'll take the first chapter of Daniel Woodrell's novel Winter's Bone, read it aloud one sentence or paragraph at a time, and hold each part up to the light. Close reading is a slow, surprisingly exciting process. It reveals how a writer does the critical jobs of storytelling: creates conflict, ramps up tension, reveals and deepens character, establishes place and time, anchors a world in sensory detail, and moves the story forward. Through close reading we refine our ability to learn, as writers, the craft of fiction from the authors we admire.


 

The Writing Life events in 2012 were generously underwritten by Jenny Lawrence.