The Process of Novel Writing                                       
      (Or: How—and Why--to Break Writing Truisms)

 How do you imagine yourself into another time period? Another place? Which rules of writing will you adhere to and which ones will you throw out the window (and why)? Schuyler will explore these questions in this talk, using The Painting, as one example. She’ll also explore how to weave the many strands that constitute the plot of a novel into a coherent whole, and how to structure chapters to sustain forward momentum. Finally, she’ll consider why there seems to be such a strong interest in the historical novel.

Nina Schuyler earned her MFA in Creative Writing at San Francisco State University. Her first novel, The Painting was published October, 2004 by Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill and was a finalist for the 24^th Annual Northern California Books Awards and was named a 2004 Best Book by the San Francisco Chronicle. She currently teaches creative writing at University of San Francisco.

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