NOVEL WORKSHOP

NOVEL OPENINGS: GETTING RIGHT TO THE “GOOD PART”

Gene Kwak

The opening of the novel is where the preliminary stakes are laid. Do you want to get to know this character more? Enter deeper into this world? Whether ensnaring a reader, an agent, or an editor, a writer doesn’t have time to get to the good part. In the words of Sam Lipsyte, “it all has to be the good part.”

In this workshop, we will focus on writing the openings of novels, which will hopefully assist writers in understanding characterization, setting, voice, tension, and scene among other craft elements. Besides examining each other’s writing, the group will work on exercises as well as have discussions about these different elements of craft. The hope is that you leave the conference more confident to take your novel draft to completion or through the next revision.