Explore how haunting and nostalgia can reshape narrative perception and deepen your fiction.
This craft talk and generative workshop examines how absence, memory, and longing operate in fiction through the twin lenses of haunting and nostalgia. Through close readings of writers such as Carmen Maria Machado, Angela Carter, and Helen Oyeyemi, alongside ideas from thinkers like Mark Fisher and Svetlana Boym, participants will explore how these forces reshape narrative perception and atmosphere. Handouts with selected excerpts will be provided, and short generative writing exercises will allow participants to immediately apply these concepts and build new material on the page. By the end of the session, participants will leave with a deeper understanding of how haunting and nostalgia function as structural tools in storytelling, as well as new pages generated during the workshop.
Live video conference: This workshop will be held via our online video conferencing platform, Zoom. You can view brief tutorials on using the platform here. On the start date or the day before, participants will receive an email with login info (please check your spam if you don’t see it).
In this workshop you’ll learn:
- The Eerie, the Haunted & Nostalgia as Narrative Tools
- Using Memory & Absence to Build Narrative Tension
- Close Reading for Craft Insight
- Applying These Tools Through Generative Writing
Time requirements
- N/A
Materials
- All reading materials will be provided.
Who should take this workshop?
- This workshop is designed for fiction writers, creative nonfiction writers, and hybrid writers who are interested in exploring how atmosphere, memory, and perception shape narrative. It is well suited for writers looking to experiment with new ways of building tension and emotional resonance in their work. Writers at all levels are welcome.
If you need an accommodation for this workshop, please contact us at access@writer.org. We will attempt to fulfill all requests, but advance notice is necessary to arrange for some accessibility services.