“Writing Historical Fiction: It’s Not About the Past” with John Pipkin
February 17, 2024 10:00 AM - 1:00 PM CST
$59.00 – $119.00
- This event has passed.
This Event is for Members only.
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$59 for Members
$119 for Non-Members
Registration for the live webinar has closed, but you can register to receive the recording only. The recording will be made available for 30 days starting 02/20/24.
Can’t make it to the live class? No problem! All classes are recorded and made available to class registrants for one month.
This class will cover the basics of writing historical fiction.
Beginning with research, we’ll look at some strategies for what (and how much) to research, and we’ll explore the range of resources available. We’ll cover how to balance research with actual writing by keeping the needs of the characters and the plot in the foreground, and we’ll look at some methods for re-creating characters based on real people. And finally we’ll identify some of the pitfalls common to the genre, such as including too many details or spending too much time describing the historical world of the story. These strategies apply to short fiction as well as to novel length narratives, and we’ll share some writing prompts to help generate well-structured stories of any length.
TAKE THIS CLASS IF:
- You don’t know when to stop researching and start writing.
- You want to learn how to turn real historical people into characters.
- You’ve discovered a curious historical fact, and you want to know how to turn it into a story.
- You’re looking for ways to bring more depth and richness to your historical narratives.
The deadline to register for this class is Friday, February 16 at 5:00 PM CST.
SCHOLARSHIP INFORMATION
The WLT is committed to making our online classes accessible to all writers including writers who do not have the financial means to pay for programming. Five (5) seats in this class have been set aside for scholarship recipients to attend free of charge. Please fill out this application no later than 2 days prior to the class to be considered for one of the scholarship seats. We do not ask for any corroborating documents; we only ask that you help us understand your situation. If you are selected for one of the available seats you will be notified via email (from wlt@writersleague.org) no later than 24 hours before the start of the class. Please note, each writer is limited to no more than four (4) total scholarship seats per catalog season.
Instructor
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John Pipkin is the Director of the Undergraduate Creative Writing Program at the University of Texas-Austin and also teaches in the low-residency MFA Program at Spalding University. Originally from Baltimore, he holds a Ph.D. in 19th-century British Literature and is the author of the critically-acclaimed novels: Woodsburner (Nan A Talese/Doubleday 2009) which won the New York Center for Fiction First Novel Prize, and The Blind Astronomer’s Daughter (Bloomsbury 2016). He has received fellowships to MacDowell, Yaddo, Dobie-Paisano, and the Gullkistan Center for Creativity in Iceland. He is also the recipient of the 2021 Harry Ransom Award for Excellence in Teaching at UT-Austin.
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Accessibility Policy
Closed captioning is available for all online classes and special events.
The WLT is committed to making its programs & services accessible to all writers. Please contact us at wlt@writersleague.org or at 512-499-8914 for more information or to discuss accommodations you may need.
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Writers’ League of Texas classes and workshops are also funded in part by the Texas Commission on the Arts – Investing in a Creative Texas. For more information, go to www.arts.texas.gov.