4-Week: Reality Bites—Realism in Fiction

Given the heightened and tumultuous nature of the past decade’s political, environmental, and public health disasters, it can be tempting for us as fiction writers to turn away from realism—not only because so much of our daily lives now feels like something out of a science fiction novel, but because, well, contemporary realist stories now have a lot of moving pieces to contend with. What does a character’s social media presence look like, for instance? And how have they navigated the COVID-19 pandemic? Are they finding love on the dating apps? What’s their involvement in the gig economy look like? In this four-week craft course, we’ll be exploring how contemporary realist authors like Danielle Evans, Patricia Lockwood, Steven Milhauser, Kristen Roupenian, and Bryan Washington navigate all these questions and more, as well as discussing strategies we can use in our own work to wrap our arms around the great and overwhelming Real.