Reading Like a Writer [Joan Leegant]

Before the advent of the writing workshop, writers learned their craft by closely reading the work of those who had mastered the form. How do good writers make us care about their characters and their fates, their situations and stories? What do they do so their narratives transport us and provide pleasure? Together we will look at short published works—fiction and personal essays—and consider everything from the skeleton of their structures to the skin of their sentences.