“[J]ust as mind and body are one, so are content and form, substance and structure.“ —Henry Lien
On Saturday, April 22, Henry Lien will teach “Non-Linear Structures from Non-Western Storytelling.” In this class, students will learn how non-linear, non-Western storytelling structures can allow for thematic stacking, embracing of moral complexity, and a synthesis between form and content. A straight line is not the best way to tell every story!
Henry Lien is a graduate of Brown University, UCLA School of Law, and Clarion West Writers’ Workshop. He is the author of the Peasprout Chen fantasy series and the non-fiction book Spring, Summer, Asteroid, Bird: The Art of Eastern Storytelling. His books have received starred reviews from Kirkus, Publishers Weekly, and Booklist, and New York Times acclaim. His writing has appeared in publications including Literary Hub, Poets & Writers, Asimov’s, Analog, and F&SF, and he is a four-time Nebula Award finalist. Henry also teaches for institutions including the UCLA Extension Writers’ Program, the University of Iowa, Clarion West, and Writing the Other. He won the UCLA Extension Department of the Arts Outstanding Instructor of the Year Award. Henry has previously worked as an attorney and fine art dealer. Born in Taiwan, Henry currently lives in Hollywood, California. Hobbies include writing and performing campy anthems for his books and losing Nebula Awards. www.henrylien.com.
Here’s what Henry had to share with us:
Who are your earliest influences? What people and books made you a writer?
So many of the writers who captured my imagination early on were women. Louisa May Alcott, Frances Hodgson Burnett, Jane Austen, Mary Shelley, Amy Tan, Sylvia Townsend Warner. Don’t know what that signifies. The book most directly responsible for me pursuing authordom was Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, which I actively studied for its dazzling plot choreography because I knew I wanted to write stories with powerful twists.
What writing challenges have you faced? What have these challenges taught you about your process?
I am allergic to clichés. I take great pleasure in coming up with unique ideas that achieve escape velocity from the powerful gravitational pull of expected tropes and trends. However, that often leaves people baffled at how to characterize or feel about my work. I get it. If you’ve lived your whole life around dogs and you’ve never seen a cat, the first time you see a cat, you’re going to say, “Eew, that’s a really weird-looking dog.”
From your perspective, what’s the most rewarding part about being a writer?
I know we’re supposed to say connecting with readers, but the truth is that getting to read something I’ve always wanted to read but never could find is incomparably satisfying. It’s the most satisfying part of writing, for me, by far.
Who do you write for?
Insert up arrow here.
What do you hope writers will learn from your course?
When most writers talk about writing, they talk about content more than form, about substance more than structure. However, just as mind and body are one, so are content and form, substance and structure. I hope to demonstrate to writers how non-linear structures can blast open their stories in exciting ways.
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Thanks, Henry!
Click here to learn more about Henry’s upcoming class.
