Bread Loaf Blog #1: What Fiction Is

Yesterday, I had my first workshop meeting at this conference. Like you guys, I'm in a fiction workshop, so it's fun to turn the tables a little bit and be in the position of the student. My teacher is a writer named Robert Boswell. So far he seems to be extremely smart and insightful and very well-read. Even better, he is also approachable -- he doesn't throw any of those attributes in your face.

At any rate, here a few nuggets of Robert Boswell's wisdom from the first day:

• Tension drives a story. A good story either exceeds or upends a readers expectations.
• The end of a good story feels simultaneously surprising and inevitable.
• Details grow out of necessity.

Think about the stories I gave you to read (Bass and Watson). Do they adhere to the wise nuggets above?

Hope you're doing well in my absence! Have a great weekend...

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