SJ SINDU
SJ Sindu is a Tamil diaspora author of two literary novels, two hybrid chapbooks, and two forthcoming graphic novels. Her first novel, Marriage of a Thousand Lies, won the Publishing Triangle Edmund White Award and her second novel, Blue-Skinned Gods, was published in November 2021. A 2013 Lambda Literary Fellow, Sindu holds a PhD in English and Creative Writing from Florida State University. Sindu teaches at the University of Toronto Scarborough. Sindu’s newest work, a hybrid chapbook titled Dominant Genes, was published by Black Lawrence Press in February 2022. More at her website or @sjsindu on Twitter/Instagram.
SESSION: Manipulating Time in Narrative
Time is one of the most important elements of narrative. Whether it's fiction, nonfiction, or even poetry, the way that time functions in a narrative greatly affects reader experience. In this lecture and Q&A, we will explore how time and chronology function in narrative, and how time can be manipulated through order, stretching, and condensing, to change tone, characterization, plot, focus, energy, and more. We will learn several time shapes and structures that are common across many stories, and learn techniques to control the flow of time in our own work. Participants will also have a chance to write from a brief prompt, share their work if they choose, and discuss how to apply the techniques learned to their own manuscripts.