405: Change vs. Stasis: Character Development in Literary Fiction - Interview with Claire Stanford

Today, I have the pleasure of interviewing Claire Stanford.

Born and raised in Berkeley, Claire holds an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Minnesota and is currently a Ph.D. candidate in English at UCLA, where she studies science fiction/speculative fiction, narrative theory, and novel theory.

Claire’s work has received fellowships and grants from the Jerome Foundation, the Minnesota State Arts Board, the Kimmel Harding Nelson Center for the Arts, the Brush Creek Foundation for the Arts, and the Hambidge Center for the Creative Arts & Sciences. Claire is also an avid watcher of BBC mysteries and the author of her debut novel, Happy for You.

 

In this episode Claire Stanford and I discuss: The meaning of happiness, its relationship with social media, and how that plays out in her novel. Why she classifies her novel as literary fiction as opposed to speculative. How she navigated writing a novel about a character who is strongly opposed to change.

 

Plus, her #1 tip for writers.

For more info and show notes: diymfa.com/405