When teaching authors how good fiction works, you can go through elements of writerly craft, and often that’s what they wanted and they’ll go away happy. Sometimes, though, they want more: how craft came to be and the secret mechanics underpinning it. Often, this ends with a recommendation to study psychology, in the hopes that it can teach them more about humanity, but science often takes us away from the neighborhood and into the laboratory. There is another path that hews closer to home. Join in to learn about phenomenology and affect theory, and how focusing on our own experiences and interactions can help us build stronger foundations for fiction. Attendees will gain a deeper understanding of the structures of consciousness and emotions. After establishing these structures’ basics, the presentation will apply them to strengthen reader investment and immersion, especially through core elements of characterization, plot, theme, worldbuilding, and growth and intimacy arcs.
Molly Cernik
Molly Cernik came from the desert, and part of her is still there. Since leaving, though, she has studied literature, literary craft, philosophy and emotion, and she earned an MA from New York University by talking in detail about how scary stories made her feel. She uses the things she learned to edit horror and sci-fi novels, and in so doing helps readers and writers alike find solace in terror. No matter how much she edits, she still gets the heebie-jeebies.