Lessons from Historical Fiction (Afternoon)
with Priya Parmar & Jane Green
This class is an exceptional opportunity both for writers of historical fiction to hone their craft, and for writers of other genres to apply the insights from historical fiction to bring verisimilitude to their own characters. It is designed for writers at all levels of accomplishment. Historical fiction presents unique challenges. It is neither biography nor pure fiction. Subjects’ lives must be meticulously researched, and the knowledge gained has to inspire rather than merely be reported upon. Achieving a distinctive voice for each character is nowhere more important than in historical fiction. Each must come alive on the page with authenticity, remaining always true to their personality. Priya and Jane will inspire their students with accounts of their fascination in immersing themselves in the lives of real people, and extrapolating narratives as plausible as if they were purely factual.
Historical fiction presents its own challenges of point of view, character development, and story arc. Priya and Jane deal with these issues in a unique way. You will learn not merely to imitate them, but to adapt the lessons they have learned to tell your story in the way that rings most true to you and your characters.
4 Afternoons: Monday 11/6–Thursday 11/9 | 1:30-4:30pm
A $100 combination discount will be applied when registering for the conference at the same time.
$795.00
In stock
Priya Parmar’s novel, Vanessa and Her Sister was recently chosen as a New York Times Book Review ‘Editor’s Choice’ selection, an Entertainment Weekly ‘Must List’ pick, a People Magazine ‘Book of the Week’, and as an editor’s pick for: O Magazine, Oprah.com, Vanity Fair, Elle Magazine, New York Magazine, Christian Science Monitor, US Weekly and USA Today and Priya was chosen for the Barnes and Noble ‘Discover Great New Writers’ 2015 program. She is the author of one previous novel, Exit the Actress. Priya is also the co-author of the wildly successful musical Sylvia, which debuted last year at London’s Old Vic theater. Priya divides her time between Kauai and London.
Jane Green is the author of eighteen New York Times Bestsellers, with over ten million books in print. She is also “Dear Jane”, the advice columnist for the Daily Mail online, one of the biggest news websites in the world. Three of her books have been made into movies for the Lifetime network: Tempting Fate, To Have and to Hold, and Family Pictures.
Together with Helen Fielding of Bridget Jones’s Diary, she is known as one of the founders of a movement called “chick lit”, the literary equivalent of the “rom com”. Over the past twenty seven years she has moved on to write wise, warm, emotionally-resonant books about women navigating today’s complicated lives. A graduate of the International Culinary Center, Jane has written one cookbook: Good Taste.
She is the Founder of Emerald Audio, a female-led podcast network producing original audio dramas for women, including Rainbow Girl, The Key of Love, and Bad Influencer, all available to stream for free wherever you listen to podcasts.
A native Londoner, she lives in Westport, Connecticut with her long-suffering husband. When not there, you can usually find her in Marrakech.
