The Fundamentals of Fiction with William Ryan

Course Summary

A four-week course that focuses on the nuts and bolts of prose fiction. Each week begins with William explaining in depth the topic for that week’s session and is then followed by a workshop where four writers will receive feedback from the group and detailed feedback from William on their 800 word submissions.

Course Outline

Session1: Techniques of Prose Fiction, including the use of point of view for narration, characterisation, momentum, the importance of conflict, handling descriptions, conveying information elements of style; followed by a workshop based around submitted work.

Session 2: Writing Place, including how to create physical settings, atmosphere, the importance of research and observation, social settings, exploring the wider context of the story and the creation of dramatic worlds; followed by a workshop based around submitted work.

Session 3: Writing Scenes, including identifying the purpose of a scene, where to place scenes, how to begin scenes, how to end them, the battle for control, what’s going on underneath the surface, the usefulness of obstacles and risk, and the need for conflict; followed by a workshop based around submitted work.

Session 4: Writing Dialogue, including the function of dialogue, how to carry dialogue, how to create individual character dialogue styles, the importance of conflicting motivations, the visible conversation and the hidden, the identification of character control as a source of and how to use internal monologue and observation to give dialogue depth, followed by a workshop based around submitted work.

All students will be expected to submit 800 words related to each week’s topic and, while William will only be able to review 4 of the submissions each week, the course if designed to operate like a writers group, with all students feeding back on all the submissions, if possible. While receiving constructive and supportive criticism is useful; giving it helps develop the writer’s objective eye which is vital for self-editing.

Course Outcomes

The course offers a detailed focus on the building blocks of narrative fiction which will be of value for all aspiring authors, even those who have been writing for some time. Slides and audio recordings from each session will be distributed, as well as William’s mark ups of the workshopped pieces.

William Ryan is the author of six novels, including the Moscow Noir series set in 1930s Russia, The Constant Soldier, A House of Ghosts and The Winter Guest. His books have been shortlisted for numerous awards, including the Kerry Group Irish Novel of the Year, the Theakstons Crime Novel of the Year and the Crime Writer Association’s Gold, Steel, Historical and New Blood Daggers. He has also lectured in creative writing at the University of East Anglia and City University.

Booked out? To be added to the waiting list for this course, please email info@irishwriterscentre.ie.