‘The gun went off’: teaching the writing of violence

This essay canvasses a range of literary approaches to the writing of violence in fiction. It analyses practical modes of writing violence in contemporary novels: violence from the perspective of a witness or victim; the creation of psychic distance; focalisation through a ‘less-violent’ character; and violence as allegory. It also discusses the implications of violent student writing for the classroom in the context of authorial responsibility, cultural studies and the potential scope and function of the writing workshop.