Voice: How to Create Distinctive, Compelling Voice in Fiction Zoom Seminar with Robert Anthony Siegel, Saturday, March 9th, 2024
Live Seminar Via Zoom Saturday, March 9th, 2024
Class will meet 12PM - 5:00PM EST
Any questions about this class? Use the Chat Button (lower left) to talk with us.
Taught by Robert Anthony Siegel, the author of a memoir, Criminals (Counterpoint,) and two novels, All the Money in the World (Random House) and All Will Be Revealed (MacAdam/Cage.) His essays, articles, and short fiction have appeared in The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, Smithsonian, The Paris Review, The Oxford American, Tin House, and Ploughshares, among other magazines. He has been a Fulbright Scholar in Taiwan, a Mombukagakusho Fellow in Japan, a Writing Fellow at the Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown, and a Paul Engle Fellow at the Iowa Writers Workshop. Other awards include O. Henry and Pushcart Prizes.
Get to know Robert in our Meet the Teaching Artist series.
Why is it that some fictional narrators feel real to us—as if they were sitting across the table, telling us their story? And why do we feel so utterly compelled to listen to them?
The sense of a narrator’s deeply individual presence starts with what we like to call voice, the linguistic expression of character. Voice is why your mother can call you up and start talking without ever stopping to identify herself. You know it’s her because of her voice. Voice is the feeling of the person behind the words.
But how does voice work? And how do we create it in our own writing? In this one-day intensive Zoom seminar, we will do a deep dive into the topic, analyzing examples from great works of fiction, and then putting what we’ve learned to work in our own writing through in-class exercises we will share with the group.
- What is voice? How does it work? What does it do?
- The first-person narrator.
- The authorial narrator.
- Exploring voice in your own work.
- A clear understanding of voice, its role in fiction, and how it is created on the page.
- Techniques and exercises to help you to develop voice in your own fiction.
Open to all levels of experience, no preparation needed. Come ready to talk, ask questions, write short in-class exercises, and share with the group.
TESTIMONIALS:
"Full of richly drawn characters and jolting plot twists—Glasser’s time behind bars is especially chilling—Siegel’s debut novel works both as a parable of how quickly the high and mighty can fall, and as gripping drama. 'Money' well spent." -NEW YORK POST on ALL THE MONEY IN THE WORLD
"Early in this novel, there is a wonderful scene—rich with embarrassment—in which Louis Glasser, the altogether unlikely hero, helps his Harvard-educated son buy a new suit. The son’s fortunes founder, but that’s nothing compared to the perils that overwhelm his father—a lawyer who operates on the margins and becomes the target of a criminal investigation. Siegel’s … portraits (loving and otherwise) of the Glassers, New York prosecutors, and various lowlifes are right on the money." -THE NEW YORKER on ALL THE MONEY IN THE WORLD
"...Well-turned and elegant...Gloriously complex..." -ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION on ALL WILL BE REVEALED
"...A richly detailed and seedily seductive narrative." -PUBLISHERS WEEKLY on ALL WILL BE REVEALED
"Robert's unique skill as a teacher comes from his enthusiasm not only for talking, which is present in many talented professors, but for listening... He has a reputation for being the best kind of teacher: generous, knowledgeable, demanding, and always at the ready with excellent advice." -former student
"The level of discourse was challenging and interesting and I think part of the reason for that was the casual atmosphere of discussion, fostered by Robert. When people are allowed to speak in an open, non-threatening environment, wonderful things happen." -former student
ONLINE COURSE STRUCTURE:
Live Seminar Via Zoom on Saturday, March 9th, 2024. Class will meet 12PM - 5:00PM EST.
PAYMENT OPTIONS:
- Instructor: Robert Anthony Siegel
- Live Seminar Via Zoom on Saturday, March 9th, 2024.
- Class will meet 12PM - 5:00PM EST.
Contact us HERE if you have any questions about this seminar.
Instructor Robert Anthony Siegel is the author of a memoir, Criminals (Counterpoint,) and two novels, All the Money in the World (Random House) and All Will Be Revealed (MacAdam/Cage.) His essays, articles, and short fiction have appeared in The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, Smithsonian, The Paris Review, The Oxford American, Tin House, and Ploughshares, among other magazines. He has been a Fulbright Scholar in Taiwan, a Mombukagakusho Fellow in Japan, a Writing Fellow at the Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown, and a Paul Engle Fellow at the Iowa Writers Workshop. Other awards include O. Henry and Pushcart Prizes. Find his website here.