The Most Important Element: Plot in Literary Fiction

n In-Person Creative Writing Workshop with Juhea Kim
Saturday, April 6
10:00am-12:00pm Pacific Time
Fishtrap – 107 W. Main St. Enterprise
Registration: $60 ($55 Fishtrappers)

Is the registration fee an obstacle for you to attend this workshop? Fishtrap offers a limited number of scholarships to help with the cost. Contact Program Director Mike Midlo for more information. mike@fishtrap.org

“Plot-driven” has become a code word for commercial (aka “lesser”) fiction. But plot has always been what defines a good story. In this workshop, we will examine the centrality of plot in narrative, from Aristotle down to contemporary literary fiction. We will also explore the essential characteristics of a great plot and the rewards of a well-plotted story. Reading excerpts from masters like George Saunders and Kafka, students will learn how to structure plot visually, how to engineer a plot twist, and on a pragmatic level, how to create plot when you’re staring at a blank page.

Juhea Kim is an author, artist, and environmental advocate. Her debut novel Beasts of a Little Land was a finalist for the 2022 Dayton Literary Peace Prize and longlisted for the 2023 Nota Bene Prize. Times Literary Supplement wrote: “In Juhea Kim’s debut novel, the land may be small but the scope is immense, as in a grand Russian novel…Beasts of a Little Land is a stunning achievement.” Published in 13 countries, it is being developed into a series. Her second novel Memento Vitae is forthcoming in November 2024. Juhea Kim’s writing has been published in Granta, Times Literary Supplement, The Independent, The Massachusetts Review, Zyzzyva, Guernica, Shenandoah, Catapult, and many others. She earned her BA in Art and Archaeology from Princeton University, and has lectured at Seoul National University, the University of São Paulo, Yonsei University, Arizona State University, among others. She is donating a portion of the author proceeds from her novel to the Phoenix Fund, a Siberian tiger and Amur leopard conservation NGO. She serves as a goodwill ambassador for the Korean Tiger and Leopard Conservation Fund. She currently divides her time between London and Portland, Oregon. 

Find out more at juheakim.com and Instagram @juhea_writes.