March 18, 2023
11am - 12:30pm EST
"I, We, Us, Them and That Third Person: Character in Nonfiction"

with author Tyrese Coleman

Just $27

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Character is an area of nonfiction prose that may be the most unlike fiction, as nonfiction is greatly limited by the point of view of the writer themselves. The writer as a character and/or the individuals they write about have actual real-life feelings that shape and control the freedom the nonfiction writer has in using them as characters. Characters in most nonfiction play a much different role than they do in most fiction, functioning as portraits and foils for the narrator, rather than forces of longing that create narrative tension to motivate plot.

 

In this seminar, we will use fiction and speculative nonfiction techniques to experiment with developing different points of view for nonfiction prose. We will work on differentiating between the writer at their desk and the narrator in the prose. From these elements, we will begin to bring a human character to the page, dimensional, who not only reacts when acted upon but who also acts, has a unique voice, and can bring to life the context of the real world in only the way creative nonfiction can do.