The Writer's Studio: Syntax as Spirit with Margaret Ross

The Writer’s Studio is a free workshop series open to all students from all majors. Come study the art of writing in intensive, fun, hands-on workshops with dynamic faculty from the Creative Writing program, the Stanford Storytelling Project, and others. You’ll leave with an expanded understanding of what your writing can do.

Syntax as Spirit

Syntax is the spirit animating prose. The form and rhythm of your sentences tell a visceral story that can amplify or counteract your words’ intended meaning. Like the music in a movie, syntax shapes mood and draws an audience into feeling. In this workshop, you’ll practice crafting sentences to best convey your subject. We’ll discuss pacing vs. timing, register vs. tone, syllable, mouthfeel and echo. We’ll consider how a sentence can enact joy, dread, doubt, calm, rage, grief, wonder, et cetera. To this end, we’ll look at passages from a wide range of writers. Come empty-handed or bring a draft of something in progress. Either way, you’ll leave with vivid new work.

Margaret Ross is the author of A Timeshare. She teaches poetry and nonfiction as a Jones Lecturer at Stanford.