Novel 101: Plot Development

We’ve moved online! All workshops are conducted via Zoom, a virtual platform that allows you to participate in exercises and contribute to group conversation. For morning and noontime workshops, your Zoom link will be sent the day before; for afternoon workshops, one hour in advance; and for evening workshops, between 5:15 pm and one hour before your workshop starts.

Member Price: $30
Deadline to Register: September 29, 5 pm
Instructor: David B. Seaburn

“If an author writes that the King died and then the Queen died, there is no plot for the story, but if the author writes that the King died and then the Queen died of grief, then we have a plot.” (E.M. Forster) In this workshop, we will use discussion and exercises to examine the key elements of plot, the importance of subplots, the creation of movement, and how to introduce twists and turns. Our guide will be Jesmyn Ward and her National Book Award-winning novel Salvage the Bones.

David B. Seaburn has written seven novels, most recently, Gavin Goode (2019). He has been a Finalist for the National Indie Excellence Award in General Fiction (2011), a second place winner for the TAZ Awards for Fiction (2017); he was shortlisted for the Somerset Award (2018); he was an American Book Fest Finalist for “Best Book” in General Fiction (2019), and a Semi-Finalist in Literary, Contemporary and Satire Fiction for the Somerset Award (2019).