Point of View: A Weekend Intensive with Janet Fitch

May 13 –  May 15,  2022

This class is led by bestselling novelist Janet Fitch, author of White Oleander, The Revolution of Marina M. and Chimes of a Lost Cathedral.

If you’ve ever taken a photograph, you know that you get a completely different picture depending upon whether you lie on the ground, stand on a ladder, use a fish-eye lens or a telephoto, or shoot through a pinhole in an oatmeal box. In fiction, Point of View determines how your reader views your story and enters or observes the lives of your characters.

Probably the least explored of the choices the writer must make pertains to Point of View. The POV changes the flavor, texture, tone, emotional attachment, and level of detail available to the reader.  Many writers settle into a Point of View without ever considering the relative strengths and weaknesses of the range of alternatives.  Armed with a good understanding of PoV, you can decide the best way to tell your story.

In this weekend intensive led by Janet Fitch, we will plunge into the fascinating subject of Point Of View. Using a wide range of examples, we’ll uncover the assets and limitations of the various forms–what you gain and lose when you select one over another. We’ll examine the differences between first person and third, address the place of voice in point of view, take note of the variations within third person, as well as examining the use of the quirky second person. Finally, we will take on the question of the venerable—and oft maligned–Authorial Omniscient, how it is constructed and sustained, its uses and pitfalls, and discuss the critical issue of authorial or narrative voice.

Offered Friday night, May 13 to Sunday night, May 15, in five 2 hour Zoom sessions, with selected readings, in-class exercises and out of class assignments.

TUITION:

Tuition: $330
Register by Friday, May 13 12:00 Noon (PT) to be included.

SCHEDULE:

Five two-hour sessions Friday, May 13 to Sunday night, May 15:

• Friday  5 – 7 pm (Pacific)  /  8  – 10 pm (Eastern)
• Twice Saturday  10 am -12 pm (Pacific)/ 1  – 3 pm Eastern  AND 5  – 7 pm (Pacific)  /  8  – 10 pm (Eastern)
• Twice  Sunday  10 am -12 pm (Pacific)/ 1  – 3 pm Eastern  AND 5 – 7 pm (Pacific)  /  8  – 10 pm (Eastern)

RECORDINGS:

These sessions will be recorded, and will be available for missed sessions/time-zone conflicts two weeks following the intensive. For registered participants only.

 Join Us! No application necessary.

WHAT PAST PARTICIPANTS HAVE SAID:

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