Author to host Banff workshop April 23: The Power and Pitfalls of Creative Nonfiction Onscreen
What can happen to a nonfiction story when you add a fictional narrator? Discover the pitfalls and benefits of this approach while viewing the 20-minute documentary A New Way: An Organic Garden Changes Lives.
I’ll be hosting a 1.5-hour seminar April 23 at the Banff Centre in Banff, Alta. It’s part of the 2016 conference hosted by Canada’s Creative Nonfiction Collective Society.
This workshop will reveal how creative nonfiction techniques on the page translate to the screen: what works, doesn’t work, and why. What are the similarities and differences in storytelling? I will screen three short films, including a five-minute personal essay and 4.5-minute inspirational poetic piece, and encourage participants to analyze and deconstruct them. The use of dialogue, structure, tone, voice, visual detail, and other elements will be examined. In addition, the workshop will include a short in-class written exercise.