Instructor: Dina Friedman
Maximum Enrollment: 12
Class Term: 05/16/2022 - 06/13/2022
Tuition/Fees
SCN Member: $120
Non-Member: $160
Class synopsis
All of us writers have been reminded at some point to "show, not tell," but how do we do this in a way that engages the reader to live the experience (whether memoir or fiction) that we're putting on the page? This short class will cover the basics of scene development and offer craft strategies and writing prompts to help us expand summary into compelling, vivid scenes that matter.Class description
Each unit will include a brief presentation on an aspect of craft (sensory imagery, dialogue, setting, narrative arc) and a writing prompt geared to help students expand their scene-building abilities. As optional "homework," students will be encouraged to convert summaries to scenes from their works-in-progress and have the opportunity to workshop them.
Class goals
Learn the basics of scene-building, be able to assess when to develop summary into scene and when to condense scene to summary.
Class communication method
I will set up a Zoom space on Tuesdays from 7:30-9 pm EST for presentations and group sharing, which can be recorded for those who might have missed a session. I will email links and pdfs for all reading materials in advance.Class outline
WEEK #1
THEME: What are the components of a scene?
–Presentation, readings, and examples
–Evoking sensory imagery (including setting) to get closer to “show/not tell;”
–Writing Prompt and sharing
–Homework, Take something you’ve written that is summary and expand it into a scene. Optional: Submit assignment for discussion and workshopping
WEEK #2
THEMES–Choosing between scene and summary; building a narrative arc
–Presentation, readings, and examples
–Workshop/discussion of homework submissions
–Writing Prompt and sharing
–Homework: Revise a scene in progress to enhance the narrative arc (Optional: submit this for workshopping/discussion)
Additional assignment for writers with longer works: Plot out the narrative arc of your book.
WEEK #3
THEME: Dialogue
–Presentation, readings and examples: Focus on capturing the sound bites that move the scene forward
–Discussion/Workshopping of HW submissions
–Writing Prompt and sharing
–Homework: Create or revise a scene with dialogue. Optional: submit to class for workshopping/sharing
Week #4
THEME–Additional considerations/putting it all together
–Presentation: Role of Voice, Point of View, and Setting
–Workshopping Homework Submissions
–Writing Prompt and Sharing
–Taking the Next Steps
Class time commitment
Class will meet weekly for 90 minutes on Zoom. Homework Assignments will take 1-3 hours each week.Instructor bio
D. Dina Friedman has published widely in literary journals and received two Pushcart Prize nominations. She’s the author of two young adult novels: Escaping Into the Night (Simon and Schuster) and Playing Dad’s Song (Farrar, Straus, Giroux) and one chapbook of Poetry, Wolf in the Suitcase (Finishing Line Press). She has an MFA from Lesley University and taught for many years at the University of Massachusetts/Amherst. Visit her website at www.ddinafriedman.com.
