CRAFT TALK: THOMAS GRATTAN ON OBJECTS IN FICTION

On the third and final day of THE ROUGH NOTES FESTIVAL, join novelist Thomas Grattan for a Craft Talk on writing about object in fiction.
CLASS DESCRIPTION

How fictional characters engage with the world around them, its objects in particular, gives readers a necessary window about their psychologies, beliefs, and actions. In this class, we will explore how fiction writers use objects to establish and develop character, build plot, and ground readers in the world of the story. Through discussion and craft exercises, we will also examine how the objects our characters notice, use, and hold onto can move our stories and novels in unexpected and exciting directions.
WHAT YOU WILL LEAVE WITH

• An understanding of how fiction writers use objects to give a sense of the story’s world and tone
• An understanding of how objects can be used to create and build conflict
• Knowledge of the ways objects can be a tool to reveal character
• Complete craft exercises aimed at exploring the ways each of us can use objects in our own fiction

ABOUT THOMAS GRATTAN

Thomas is the author of The Recent East, which was a New York Times editor’s choice, longlisted for the PEN/Hemingway Award, and a finalist for the Los Angeles Times First Novel Prize. His new novel In Tongues is forthcoming from MCD Books/ Farrar, Straus, and Giroux. His short fiction has appeared in several publications, including One Story, Slice, and The Colorado Review. He received his MFA from Brooklyn College and lives in New York City.
ABOUT THE ROUGH NOTES FESTIVAL
Presented by Kinderhook Books, the three-day event is, at its core, a literary festival—but it also celebrates the craft of writing in all its forms: songwriting, stand-up comedy, screenwriting, art, design, and more.
SPONSOR

This Craft Talk is sponsored by The Rough Notes Fund for Rural Literary Education, allowing us to offer the class at no cost to attendees. Attendance will be taken, and the $50 registration fee will be refunded to the original payment method within seven days after the class for all students who attend. Eventbrite fees and applicable taxes are nonrefundable. The $50 registration fee will not be refunded to students who do not attend.