Description
As time progresses and we increasingly encounter fiction that is experimental or defiant, the problem of plot begins to feel more real. One begins to ask, how important is plot? How does plot evolve in a story? In fact, what is the relationship between plot and character and in what ways do they diverge?
This masterclass will consider these questions by looking at the ways in which character can shape plot, or that plot can shape character. I believe that the difference in these two processes determines whether the end product is an effective story or simply a “tale” masquerading as a story.
About Chigozie Obioma
Chigozie Obioma was born in Akure, Nigeria. His two novels, The Fishermen (2015) and An Orchestra of Minorities (2019) were shortlisted for The Booker Prize. His novels have been translated into more than 29 languages. They have won awards including the inaugural FT/Oppenheimer Award for Fiction, the NAACP Image Award, the Internationaler Literaturpreis, and the LA Times Book Prize, and been nominated for many others. The Fishermen was adapted into an award-winning stage play by Gbolahan Obisesan that played in the UK and South Africa between 2018-2019. He was named one of Foreign Policy’s 100 Leading Global Thinkers of 2015. He is the James E. Ryan Associate Professor of English and Creative Writing at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and divides his time between the US and Nigeria.
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