Intimacy & Irony: Engineering Distance via the Close-Third with Jakob Guanzon

Perspective. It’s all that separates horror from hilarity, really. Then again, the inextricable nature of such opposites is often the crux of the most moving and human stories ever told, and, in turn, of those we (ought to) aspire to write.

This tension is inherent to the close-third person perspective, which—when handled just right—can charge the mere aperture to a narrative with combustive potency well before an inciting incident. Such dynamism and versatility are pretty tricky to wield, much less to master, but we can start by stealing some tricks from the pros before us.

In this workshop, we’ll laser in on the free indirect style, both studying and experimenting with tactics that can embody the cozy snark of a first-person confidant before zooming out to near-omniscient altitudes. The course will consist of brief lectures on the why and how of the close third, interactive readings, in-class exercises, and an optional assignment for further feedback.

Course Outline

• Session I
  • Introductions
  • Lecture & discussion: Why the close third?
  • Definitions, implementations & effects
  • In-class reading: “The School” by Donald Barthelme
  • In-class exercise based on reading and follow-up discussion
• Session II
  • Lecture: Axis of irony – a visualization of the breadth of close-third modes
  • Plot student samples on the axis, discussion of varying degrees of irony & intimacy via POV
  • Back-to-back exercises: writing the same scene from diametrically opposed modes of close third
  • Share and discuss
  • Conclusion