The Art of the Scene: Tension, Voice, and Setting

    Tuesday, May 31, 2016 at 11:00 AM until Tuesday, June 28, 2016 at 1:00 PMUTC -04:00


    Sarah Lawrence College
    1 Mead Way
    Bronxville, NY 10708
    United States

    Instructor: Bethany Ball
    Length: 5 sessions, $450
    Tuesdays, 11:00 AM - 1:00 PM

    “Well, this whole question of how you work out the narrative is very mysterious. It's a good deal more arbitrary than most people who don't do it would ever believe.” ― Joan Didion

    Working on narrative is mysterious, tricky business but almost nothing can be a more rewarding task for the writer. If dramatic tension is simply what keeps the reader reading, then how are setting and voice used to amp up that tension? If a scene is a set of events occurring in a single setting with characters coming and going, then how does a well-crafted scene work? Is there tension? Conflict? Does the setting support the scene? Is the voice in service to the scene? Is third person the best point of view for this particular work or would first person serve the scene better? How is the voice working for or against the story? Through writing exercises, in-class readings and by sharing our work our goal will be to come out of the course with a fully-realized, tension-driven, voice-specific scene, chapter or story. We will also take some time to talk about publishing markets and procedure and next steps for writers.

    Bethany Ball was born in Detroit and has lived in Santa Fe, New York, New Jersey, Miami and Israel. She now lives between the East Village and the Hudson River Valley with her family. She worked for many years in publishing and holds an MFA from Sarah Lawrence and has recently been published in BOMB, The American Literary Review, Kveller and 2Paragraphs. Her debut novel will be published in 2017 by Grove Atlantic.

    Writing Institute Registration Process:

    Step 1 - Registration Information: Complete this registration form in full.

    Step 2 - Payment: Once you click submit on this form, a new page will appear in your browser with a payment link. Click on the payment link, complete the required information, and submit your payment. 
     
    Payment is required for your registration to be confirmed. If we don’t receive your payment within 48 hours of submission of this form, your registration will automatically be cancelled. You will have to complete the form again if you wish to register for the class.

    Step 3 - Confirmation: Once we receive your payment, your registration will be finalized and confirmed with an email. Please keep this email for your records.  Details about room assignment, parking, and any other information relevant to the course will be emailed to registered students the week before classes begin.

    If you have questions about the registration process, please call us at 914-395-2205 or email sorefice@sarahlawrence.edu.

    Registration is no longer available because the event has been cancelled.