Members can register for winter quarter classes starting at 10:30 am today, Dec. 5! General public registration opens Dec. 12. Explore classes » 

Master Class: Making a Scene [David Gates]

Time: 12:00am - 12:00am PT
Capacity: seat
1 seat left!
Member Price: $112.50
General Price: $125.00

What is a scene anyway? (A mini-narrative with beginning, middle, climax, and end, most often an encounter involving two or more people.) Where do you begin a scene? (As close to the end as you can; e.g., after the phone rings, someone walks over, picks it up, says hello.) Where do you end a scene? (When it’s done what it needs to do; e.g., before they hang up.) What happens in a scene? (Something had better.) How does it move the larger narrative forward? (By letting us in on something we don’t already know, either about the story or the people.) What is each person in a scene trying to achieve—overtly or secretly? (Something that conflicts with what someone else is trying to achieve.) But you’re not saying that every encounter in fiction is a form of combat? (I’m not?) But not if the people are friends or lovers, right? (Especially if.) Bring in a scene or two from your own work, and be prepared to discuss why it’s necessary to your larger narrative, what it’s accomplishing, and what’s happening in it—both the actual events and the undercurrents. We’ll pay particular attention to dialogue: what’s said and how it’s said; what’s not said and what that says.

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Class sessions may be recorded if a session falls on a holiday, or if a student has access needs. Class recordings are not guaranteed.

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Classes may be cancelled if less than 5 students are enrolled within 10 days before the class start date. If for any reason Hugo House needs to cancel a class, students can choose between a full credit or full refund.

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