Writing Historical Fiction with Judith Starkston

Writing Historical Fiction with Judith Starkston

Writing historical fiction requires an additional set of skills along with the essential tools of all fiction writers. This course will drill down into the specific artistry of historical fiction and its subgenres (such as historical fantasy, historical mystery, time-slip). A good writing class helps students integrate new skills into their own practice. We will reach that goal both by dissecting models (outstanding and problematic) and by generating/reworking passages of students’ manuscripts. Topics will include: balancing accuracy and storytelling, building historical worlds with powerful emotional effect, using primary documents for rich scenes, developing immersive setting without overburdening the story, creating engagement and believability with historical details and composing convincing dialogue from the past.

Meet Your Instructor
Judith Starkston writes historical fantasy set in the Bronze Age world of Hittites and Greeks. She holds degrees in classics, from the University of California, Santa Cruz (BA) and Cornell University (MA). She taught high-school English, Latin and humanities. Her debut novel, "Hand of Fire", was a semi-finalist for the prestigious M.M. Bennett’s Award for Historical Fiction. Her second novel, "Priestess of Ishana" won the San Diego State University Conference Choice Award. She is represented by Richard Curtis.

About the Piper Writers Studio
The Piper Writers Studio is committed to supporting writers in every stage of their development by providing challenging, diverse and accessible educational opportunities. All classes are not-for-credit, and are intended to be open to the public. You do not need to be an ASU student to attend. Writers of all backgrounds, genres and experience levels are welcome. Discounts for students, senior citizens, individuals experiencing economic challenges and other groups are available for every class. To learn more about the Piper Writer Studio, visit our website at http://piper.asu.edu/classes/about.

Jake Friedman, Marketing and Outreach Specialist
The Virginia G. Piper Center for Creative Writing
4807271787
jake.friedman@asu.edu
http://piper.asu.edu/classes
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Piper Writers House
$149 Regular, $119 Student