Homegoing by Toni Ann Johnson is an intimate portrait of a middle-aged African-American woman dragging herself hand over hand out of grief and despair.
This story begins with her aching, echoing pain after the one-two punch of a miscarriage and the dissolution of her marriage. Her journey takes her back to the upper-middle-class white suburb where she grew up, through childhood memories that refuse to be denied and to, of all times and places, a funeral.
Something and someone is supposed to be buried. Certainly the deceased. But quite possibly the woman who has held on to her losses and her grudges long enough to poison her own future.
Homegoing explores two literary tropes about the place called “home.” Thomas Wolfe’s posthumous 1940 novel states starkly in its title, You Can’t Go Home Again. But Robert Frost, in his poem The Death of the Hired Man, says, “Home is the place where, when you have to go there, They have to take you in.”
The home that Madeline Arrington can’t truly go back to represents the past and not the present. She remembers her childhood, as one of the very few black children in a mostly-white suburb, being filled with racist taunts and bullying from children who were never held accountable for making her childhood hell. A hell that seems to be remembered by no one but herself – and she can’t let go of either the original memories or the gaslighting that now surrounds them.
While Maddie doesn’t want to go home, she can if she must, as she does for the funeral of her former next-door neighbor. And in that return, she learns that the past is dead except in her own memories and that it’s time to let it go – not for anyone else’s sake, but for her own.
Homegoing offers catharsis.
While Maddie’s memories of childhood bullying revolve around racism, any adult who was bullied as a child will resonate with Maddie’s experiences. Children are often cruel, and the victims remember their treatment much more harshly and in much more detail than the perpetrators.
But the past is another country, to quote another classic novel, and they do things differently there – or did. Maddie’s own healing requires her to leave the past behind, and her ability to do so gives the reader hope for a brighter future for the character, and quite possibly for themselves as well.
Fiction and memoir need to be cinematic—there’s no getting around that fact.
Especially in this saturated, reality-dominated, and competitive media landscape. Creating cinematic fiction makes great demands on writers—there’s no gigantic screen, no darkened theater to enchant a reader, no actors prancing around a stage, their body language and costumes signaling meaning and subtext. But many film techniques can be translated onto the page from viewpoint to mastering props and subtext. It begins with making powerful choices and identifying key moments that need emphasis, when to whisper and suggest, and when to stage and let the camera roll.
Topics we’ll cover:
Using viewpoint to establish camera angles and narrative distance, especially bringing your ‘camera’ in close for potency and impact.
Borrow method acting techniques to create immersive viewpoints.
Using wide angle or establishing shots to nail down scenes and place.
Zooming for impact.
Factoring in the subliminal with sounds, subtext, color, and texture.
Lighting to create mood, atmosphere, resonance, and obstacles.
Using props to ground the story and create subtext.
Scene cuts and cliffhangers to keep suspense percolating.
This workshop will available LIVE and VIRTUALLY for those who register
The inimitable, always-in-demand, Jessica Morrell
One of the primary contributors to the Chanticleer writing blog, Jessica’s tips and advice are invaluable lessons that benefit all authors. Each year we offer writing craft sessions from the best editors and authors in the publishing industry.
Don’t Miss Out!
Jessica will be teaching two classes over the course of three sessions LIVE at CAC22
Your Brain on Writing: How Neuroscience Research Can Make You a Better Writer (2 Sessions)
Writing is a complex process and these days information gleaned from cognitive neuroscience can make a powerful difference in how much you accomplish and how your words affect readers. While writing, all regions of your brain are engaged and on the job. That’s why the more you write, the more neural connections you’re growing. The latest science-based information gives insights on how to form connections and develop powerful habits as you train and strengthen your brain. Reading is also a complex act so we’ll delve into what goes on in readers’ minds and how to capture their interest and keep them captivated. Or should we say captive?
Topics we’ll cover:
An easy-to-understand overview of brain structures and functions. This includes learning the roles of key neurotransmitters, our billions of neurons, and how to better implement them in writing and life.
Neuroplasticity and how you can change your brain’s structure and function by rewiring neural pathways.
Understanding the function of the RAS (reticular activating system) and how it helps us achieve goals and leads our future self forward.
Put your subconscious and unconscious to work by reprograming generating ideas and breakthroughs.
The function of the vagas nerve, the longest cranial nerve running from your brain to your stomach, and how it affects major body functions from breathing to blood pressure to heart rate. Then we’ll discuss simple practices to stimulate it to support overall and emotional health.
Practical habits and exercise to put this knowledge into practice.
AND
Dangerous Women with Jessica Morrell
Vampire Juliette and Vampire Hunter Cal — Two Dangerous Women from Netflix’s First Kill
Dangerous women can occupy so many roles in fiction, film, and television. With their complex moralities and motivations, they defy expectations, and can be strong, fearless, and inspiring. Then there are the ones who scare us. Because one bad woman is worth five bad men, so when women plot and scheme and break bad, the results are often disastrous for whoever she’s got in her crosshairs. Because social norms have taught us that women are the gentler and nurturing sex, when they defy norms, the results are combustible.
With that in mind, we’ll talk about female anti-heroes in all their fierceness and intriguing capabilities and how to make their stakes personal. We’ll cover unlikable protagonists, villains, and rule breakers who sizzle on the page, reflect the realities of their society or culture, or are deliciously out of sync. We’ll also discuss roles in fiction such as femme fatale, divas, mommy dearest, and power behind the throne. Characters we’ll analyze characters from well-known tales such as Annie Wilkes of Misery, Sula, Nurse Ratchet, Mrs. Danvers, Rebecca DeWinters, and Mrs. Bennet of Pride and Prejudice.
The workshop will review contemporary women found in TV series and films because in recent years an explosion of strong and norm-defying females are everywhere—including Claire Underwood from House of Cards, Eve Polastari and Villanette from Killing Eve, Cersei Lannister and Daenerys Targaryen from Game of Thrones, Queen Elizabeth in The Crown—disrupters all.
Other Sessions at In Real Life CAC 22
Why Acting Classes Make You a Better Writer – Nicole Evelina – USA Bestselling Author
Seven Advanced Techniques for Deeping Characterization – Diane Garland (Continuity Editor) and Jacquie Rogers – multi-award winning author
Five Things You Need to Know About POV – Amy Peele, Medical Mystery Author
Homegoing by Toni Ann Johnson is an intimate portrait of a middle-aged African-American woman dragging herself hand over hand out of grief and despair.
