2022-10/22 (Online) Sports as a Device in Fiction: A Championship Playbook with Arlon Jay Staggs

Even if you’re not writing “about” sports, this class is for you. Come discover ways the fiction writer can leverage sports to build character, navigate plot, and establish stakes. We will explore how sports offers all the stuff of great fiction: win/lose tension; characters with unambiguous wants; natural beginnings, middles, and endings (usually with literal ticking clocks); and clear opponents whose success is the protagonist’s failure. We’ll look at some examples of how well-known authors (who also weren’t writing about sports) have successfully leveraged sports and athletes to move their plots forward and give their characters believable motives. We’ll also consider how to avoid cliché and access the deep well of useful sports metaphors and themes in ways that nonfiction can’t.

You will be emailed the Zoom link 24 hours before the start of class. If you sign up less than 24 hours before the start time of the class, please email Kristen at programs@sandiegowriters.org for your link.

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