Desire as Architecture: Plot and Character in Fiction led by Sanjna N. Singh
In this three-day workshop, we will focus on the synthesis of plot and character within the realm of fiction writing. We will explore how narrative propulsion arises from the characters themselves: their longings, fears and secret histories. From close reading, discussion and generative writing, participants will learn how action emerges organically from motivation. In other words, how what a character wants determines the shape of the story. We’ll read stories by writers who accomplish this in many different ways: from Arundhati Roy to Vivek Shanbhag to Toni Morrison, and examine how master writers mine the tension between desire and obstacle to craft compelling scenes. As always, emphasis will be on process, learning and growth rather than product. Participants can expect to leave the workshop with an understanding of the crucial relationship between desire and consequence, and the building blocks to create stories that appear, as the best stories do, at once surprising and inevitable. This workshop is open to writers of all levels and will include time for participants to share what they’ve created.
12-15 participants max
SELECTION CRITERIA
The workshops are open to writers of all genres and levels. Writers who wish to apply may answer the following questions in 3-4 lines each (max.)
1. How does your writing currently fit into your life?
2. What are you working on at the moment (if anything)?
3. What do you hope to discover while participating in this workshop?
About facilitater: www.sanjnasingh.com
Born in Mumbai, Sanjna N. Singh moved to the U.S. for college, graduating from Bryn Mawr with degrees in Political Science and French. She studied cinema and photography in Paris and subsequently worked for five years at HBO in New York. Her independent documentary “Out of Status” was nominated for the Amnesty DOEN award for Human Rights and aired on Channel 4, UK. Sanjna has worked on shows like Storm Chasers and Dual Survival for the Discovery Channel, Mob Wives for Vh1, Hotel Impossible for the Travel Channel, Be Good Johnny Weir for Logo, and many others. Her essays have been published in the New York Times, the Guardian, Guernica, Bitch, Tricycle and other magazines and she was awarded numerous grants and residencies including an award from the Speculative Literature foundation for fiction in 2021. Sanjna graduated with her MFA from the University of Iowa’s celebrated Nonfiction Writing Program in 2022, where she was also a screenwriting fellow. She currently lives in India, with her little rescue terrier, KoKo.
Please note- “attendance in all sessions is mandatory.”
For queries, registration & accommodation, please email: info@deerpark.in